


Ruination

by Lugialvr1994



Series: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ruins of Civilization [5]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Alternate Universe, Complete, Female Protagonist, Gen, Gen Work, Multi, Politics, Prequel, Tragedy, Tragic Romance, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-11-04 01:03:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 43,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10980093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lugialvr1994/pseuds/Lugialvr1994
Summary: In the distant prequel to the PMD: ROC series, the events of humanity's collapse are experienced through the eyes of a, formerly average, young woman.You do not HAVE to have read the four previous stories in order to understand most of this story.





	1. A Small Celebration

**Author's Note:**

> To start off, this story is not really the fifth installment in the PMD: ROC series, it is a semi-standalone prequel to all four installments of ROC instead. It takes place in the same world as the four main ROC stories, but it does not require having read any of them to understand it. However, having read certain parts of the four main ROC stories will allow readers of this story to better understand a few of its references. Like my other stories, this one will post a new chapter on both Tuesdays and Fridays, until it is fully posted.  
> With regard to this story’s content, I should make it clear that this story is human-centered. Of course, that makes this story quite different from my previous works in the ROC series. Pokémon play a mostly-background role in this story. Their existence is important to the plot, but they are not often directly involved with most of the events that unfold “onscreen.” With that said, the world that is shown in this story is NOT meant to be any sort of close approximation or representation of the original Pokémon setting. This story is not meant to be a serious examination of the debate over the morality of Pokémon Training that can be applied in any way to canon materials, even though that debate is key to this story’s plot. This story depicts a very alternate take on a world inhabited by both humans and Pokémon and is not intended to comment on the original, canon setting.  
> To conclude, I hope that you enjoy this story, despite it being substantially different from my previously posted works. This will be the last installment of the ROC series. If I do return to the ROC setting, eventually, it will be after writing at least a couple of other, separate, stories. After this story is fully posted, I will be checking off the ROC series as complete, however.

It was a beautiful dress, Vivian smiled as she decided that it had been worth the money it cost her. She had been worried about how it would look on her, but the new light red dress did not clash with her light-brown skin. In fact, Vivian thought it looked amazing on her. After spinning around briefly she decided that she was ready to go out. However, when she looked away from the mirror in her bedroom, she saw her mother standing in the doorway.

The older woman sighed for half a second and then smiled at her daughter. She then said, “You look stunning, Vivian. I won’t stop you from going out tonight. However, I maintain that your time would be better spent looking for a job.”

Vivian put a hand on her hip, smiled back at her mom and then replied, “I have told you already, mom, I just need to find something big to write a report on. Then, I can submit it to all the big newspapers and see if I can get a job as a low-level reporter or writer.”

Pamela Prince then sighed again and added, “Well, you studied journalism enough in school that you should be able to impress the higher ups at the Megapolis Post, or some smaller outlet…”

Vivian nodded and then interjected, “I should be leaving now, mom. Nina will be waiting for me at the restaurant. She insisted on going somewhere fancy to celebrate her promotion. I am not sure if she can afford it on, even on her new manager’s salary.”

Pamela allowed Vivian to grab her purse and then stepped aside to let her daughter pass. She then asked, “I should not be seeing you until next morning, at the earliest, right?”

Vivian nodded yes and then, as her mother followed her to the door of their apartment, replied, “I will be going dancing with Nathan after I have dinner with Nina. We are supposed to meet at the club at eight. So, I should have plenty of time with Nina before I spend the night at Nathan’s apartment.”

Pamela nodded and then, as Vivian headed out the door, said, “Have fun and be safe. I want you looking for a practice story tomorrow!”

Vivian blew her mother a kiss as she left the apartment and then walked down the stairs.

Vivian took the stairs to the ground floor of her apartment complex. Once she reached the street, she took a bus to the stop nearest to the restaurant where she had agreed to meet her best friend, Nina Hale.

When Vivian arrived, she told the hostess that she was meeting someone at the restaurant. She then spotted a hand waving at her from a booth close to a large window.

Vivian walked over to where a light-skinned, young woman with very short black hair and a dark-green dress on was awaiting her. As Vivian sat down, Nina told her, “Nice dress, you look lovely.”

Vivian nodded enthusiastically and then replied, “Thanks, you look great in that dress…you would look even better if you let your hair grow out a bit, like mine.”

Nina laughed and then replied, “If my hair was longer, it would get in the way of my work at the coffee shop and I might have to wear a hairnet! So, no thank you. On the subject of jobs, is your mother still bothering you about you getting one?”

Vivian nodded yes and then smiled, saying, “Speaking of jobs as well, congrats on your promotion, miss manager. You must be so proud of yourself!”

Nina nodded and added, “Proud enough to have a celebratory dinner with you at one of the fanciest eateries in the district!”

Vivian smiled back at Nina, remembering how they had met in that coffee shop. How she, a recent immigrant to the global capital of Megapolis from the southern archipelago of Umbala had been helped out by Nina when she had no other friends. Nina had taken Vivian under her wing and helped her get used to city life in southern Megapolis…. Vivian then snapped back into the present and said, “Well, I will leave here in about an hour and a half to go see Nathan. The club where he wants to meet with me is not far from here, I should be able to walk.”

Nina rolled her eyes and then said, “Oh yes, your boyfriend. I will never forget how you met him.”

Vivian then rolled her own eyes and replied, “Yes, he had the TV in the shop on too loudly, he was watching a professional Pokémon match. You asked me, even though I don’t work at the shop, to ask him to turn it down. When I walked over, he apologized, said he would have no choice but to turn it down for someone as pretty as me and offered to buy me a drink.”

Nina nodded and then added, “I still don’t like that guy. I know he treats you perfectly well… He just rubs me the wrong way.”

Vivian just shook her head and replied, “I think he is in my life to stay. He has even promised to not interfere with my journalism career, if it ever gets off the ground. Also, you should not mess with him. He is training to become a police officer after all.”

As Vivian chuckled, Nina face-palmed and then gave a quick glance around the area. She then informed Vivian, conspiratorially, “Don’t tell Nathan about this, but I have actually gotten involved in a political group recently.”

Vivian looked confused and then asked Nina, “That is not illegal, why would we need to hide that from him?”

Nina continued, “It is legal, but he would not approve. You see, I have gotten involved with the Pokémon Liberation Organization…”

Vivian raised an eyebrow and then asked, “The PLO? I know that they actively oppose legal Pokémon Training and the use of Pokémon as laborers. Aren’t they a religious group?”

Nina laughed and then nodded her head no, she then replied, “The PLO is not a religious group. Our leader, Rudolph Stevens does have a preacher-like sort of feel to him. His rhetoric can occasionally sound like a sermon, I admit. In reality, the PLO is a non-profit, officially secular, political movement, otherwise it is what you just said it is.”

The two young women then ordered their meals from a waiter. Then, Vivian asked, “I know you always sort of needed a hobby or interest outside of work, Nina, but why did you get involved with this PLO movement?”

Nina calmly replied, “I’ll admit that one of my reasons for disliking you boyfriend is that he is a committed fan of the Pokémon leagues. I hate what the Trainers do to those poor, innocent Pokémon. They force them to fight each other until they are unconscious. You know, some impartial, scientific, studies are starting to indicate that Pokémon are as smart as humans. That is why the Global Federation’s parliament made it illegal to slaughter still living Pokémon for their meat recently, even though the practice had been on the decline. We should not own other intelligent creatures and use them as slaves. I am less sure about using them as pets, but still!”

Vivian, who had been listening carefully then asked, “What about the bond between Pokémon and their human Trainers? What about the fact that Pokémon never die in staged battles? I heard that they can walk off most injuries that leave them still conscious. And of course, the PLO is not a major political movement as of now.”  

Nina sighed and face-palmed again, she then said, “The PLO is expanding rapidly. Our website is getting more and more hits daily and our rallies around the world are getting larger and more supportive crowds. More and more donations are being made to the PLO every day. As for what you say about the Pokémon, the Federation of Pokémon Leagues puts out tons of propaganda to keep up its Public Relations as the world’s premier sporting organization, Vivian. They just want everyone to think that Pokémon Training is not gladiatorial slavery!”

Vivian after listening to Nina’s rant, said, “Where is the proof of all this? Can you prove the harmfulness of Pokémon Training?”

Nina folded her arms and then told Vivian, “You are the budding journalist here. …You know what, you should attend our next rally. It will be held in a park not far from here in around a week. Maybe that can be what you write your practice story about. I don’t think that the Megapolis Post will cover it, so you can send something in to them about the rally as part of your job application! The rally is open to the public, so you should be fine coming. Since I am a volunteer with the PLO, you can come with me and we should have no issues there.”

Vivian sighed and then said, “Fine, I will go to your rally and write a report about it. You can send me the details however you want tomorrow. I need to get a practice story written, anyway. My mother keeps ‘riding’ me about getting a practice story done.”

Nina then smiled and added, “I don’t necessarily expect you to get into the cause. However, I think that it is one worth following. Pokémon are being held back by the actions of unscrupulous humans and we are dirtying ourselves by engaging in the enslavement and abuse of others.”

Vivian simply nodded as their food arrived. Once the waiter was gone, she said, “I am happy that you seem to have found a passion, Nina. I am just not sure how far this will take you?”

Nina simply replied, “When you see Mr. Stevens give his speech at the rally, you may change your mind. He has a way of convincing people that, in his own words, the use of Pokémon as slaves is humanity’s grand sin.”

Vivian just nodded again as Nina began eating, she then said, “We are here to celebrate your promotion to manager. We should be celebrating, not debating.”

Nina nodded and then said, “I wish you had not already scheduled your date with Nathan on the same night as our dinner. But, it seems like it will work out for you. Once you leave, I will go over to the bar and look for someone attractive…”

Vivian nodded, knowing that Nina was somewhat jealous of her relationship with Nathan. She also knew that Nina would hit on someone attractive and receptive regardless of their sex. Vivian remembered that when the two young women had first met and become friends, they had come to a quick agreement that Nina would never seriously flirt with Vivian for the sake of their friendship. Eventually, the topic had left their conversations as they settled in to their routines as friends.

For the next hour, Vivian and Nina ate and talked. After a small desert, Nina and Vivian shared a quick hug. Then, Nina sauntered over to the bar while Vivian left for the nearby club.

It only took Vivian about ten minutes to reach her destination. Waiting for her near the front door of the dance club was a man her age with brown hair, light-skin and a black and white tuxedo on. Nathan Ford smiled at Vivian as she reached him. He said, as he took her hand “You are on time. Knowing you and Nina, I would think that you two would talk for quite a while…. You know, I keep getting the feeling that she does not like me. I turned the TV down when we met…”

Vivian laughed and then interjected, “I knew when to leave. As for Nina, it’s not just that, actually… we don’t need to worry about that now.”

Nathan nodded and then led Vivian inside. After leaving her purse somewhere safe, where she could keep an eye on it. Vivian danced with Nathan for the next couple of hours. After that, the young couple walked up to the bar where they each ordered a drink. As Vivian looked around the club, which she had not previously visited, Nathan cleared his throat and then told Vivian, “I had an idea for where our next date should be, but I am not sure how you will feel about it.”

Vivian looked up at Nathan and then asked, “I’ll bite, where do you want to take me next?”

Nathan responded, “I have held off on this for a while, but I would like to take you to the to the next big Pokémon tournament being held in Federal Gym in the city center. The tournament is being held in three days. You would be fine to dress casually.”

Vivian tried to looked focused on Nathan, but she could not help but think, “What are the odds?”

Nathan then continued, “I have not talked about my interest in Pokémon Training too much with you before because I did not want to seem like I was monopolizing my own interests in our relationship. However, I have decided that I should at least take you to a tournament and see what you think. I spent my youngest years in Skylaria, where the local league is a pretty big deal. Even after my family moved to Megapolis, I have followed the Skylaria league, among others. I want to see if I can get you at least moderately interested in Pokémon Battles. I think it will be something we can bond over, possibly.”

When Nathan finished, Vivian thought, “I guess I should see both the tournament and the rally. That way, I will get a more objective view of the debate and be able to develop my own opinions. That plan sounds like what a good journalist would do in this situation.”

Vivian, deciding not to mention her planned presence at the next big PLO rally to Nathan, replied, “That sounds fine. I will go along and with any luck, I will enjoy myself.”

Nathan smiled back at Vivian and responded, “Wonderful, I kind of already bought us two tickets. I would have brought a friend if you had said no. I hope that you enjoy it, darling. It would be nice for us to have a shared interest. I will help explain a lot of the moves and species you will probably not know when we get there.”

Vivian nodded and then the two of them downed their drinks and got back to dancing. Vivian felt bad about not telling Nathan about her plans to go to the PLO rally. She also knew that it would probably be unwise to inform him of that plan. She also did not plan to tell Nina about her newly arranged date with Nathan if she saw her again before the tournament.

At around eleven in the evening, Nathan and Vivian hailed a taxi and took it over to the complex that contained Nathan’s apartment, which was only a few blocks from the complex where Vivian shared an apartment with her mother.

The young couple made their way up the stairs to Nathan’s apartment. Once they were inside, Vivian fell into Nathan’s arms. He smiled down at her and then asked, “Before we get busy, I was wondering, if you have found your practice story yet?”

Vivian nodded no and then disengaged their embrace. She then took off her dress, letting it fall to the floor.


	2. The Tournament

After spending the night at Nathan’s apartment, Vivian returned to her own apartment early the next day, where she met up with her mother. Just after lunch, Pamela asked Vivian, “So… when you were with Nina and then Nathan, did you get any good ideas for a practice story?”

            Vivian sighed for a brief moment and then replied, “Yes, actually. When I was talking with Nina, she mentioned that she joined that activist group, the Pokémon Liberation Organization. She told me that there is going to be a PLO rally in six days, it was a week when we discussed it. she wants me to attend the rally with her and that the Megapolis Post will probably not be publishing the story. Therefore, I can type something up from some notes, which I will take when I attend and send it to them as part of an application that I will prepare beforehand.”

            Pamela nodded back at her daughter and then added, “I keep hearing that that movement is spreading. I am not sure what their issue with Pokémon training is, but they sure seem perturbed about it…”

            Vivian interjected, “Nina told me some information, like how she thinks that the Federation of Pokémon Leagues is feeding the world false propaganda and that humans are enslaving possibly sentient creatures. Speaking of that, there is a possible problem that I need to talk to you about.”

            Pamela looked a bit confused and then asked her daughter, “You have a practice story, it’s not like you automatically have to join this group when you show up at one of their rallies?”

            Vivian nodded and then explained, “Well, in only two days, Nathan has gotten tickets for the two of us to attend a major Pokémon tournament in Federal Gymnasium. Nina and Nathan have never really liked each other and now they want me to attend these events with them. I would rather not either of them learn of my other plan, but I hate lying to them.”

            Pamela nodded, sighed and then told Vivian, “You know that I think you should attend the rally. The Megapolis Post will be covering the tournament for sure. Obviously, you will need to write an objective article about the rally, since you are not trying to be an op-ed writer. As for the other event, if Nathan wants to go to this event with you, then you should go with him. I hate to promote dishonesty, especially in my own daughter, but you would be most wise here to keep your attendance of events they would oppose a secret from Nina and Nathan. That is the best advice I can give you for now. Even if it would possibly make sense to come clean with them, they might overreact, even if you explain that you were trying to see both sides of the issue.”

            Vivian nodded and then said, “Alright, mother I will go to both events and try to keep my best friend and my lover each in the dark about the event they are not attending. …As bad as that feels.”

            Two days later, Vivian and Nathan had driven into central Megapolis in a car that Nathan had rented. They passed by the heavily guarded Global Parliament Building and the grand Megapolis Cathedral, which was dedicated to Arceus, on the way to the massive oval-shaped tan and green building that was the Federal Gymnasium.

            After parking the car in the massive underground parking structure nearby the gymnasium, they walked over to the massive line leading into the main gymnasium, after they had gotten in line, Vivian, who was wearing a red tank top and black pants, asked Nathan, “So, how are things going at the police academy?”

            Nathan, who was wearing brown pants and white t-shirt with a Pokéball symbol on it, smiled down at his girlfriend, and answered, “It is going great, actually. I should be a certified police officer within the next couple weeks. Once my graduation date is set, I will let you know so that you and, if she wants, your mother can attend.”

            Vivian smiled back at Nathan and nodded she then asked, “I hope that you do not get assigned anywhere in the city that’s too dangerous. I would not want to lose you, and neither would your family.”

            Nathan grinned back at Vivian as they started moving up the line towards the main building, he then said, “I will probably be assigned to the precinct closest to where we live and be given a beat or be on reserve. You know in Skylaria, where I was born, things were unstable recently. Things are safer here for sure. The Skylarian governor had to call in the local army on some religious fanatics who were killing Dark and Ghost Type Pokémon claiming they were the spawn of some evil Pokémon they called Giratina, their leaders claimed to have discovered some super ancient texts, or something like that.”

            Slightly confused, Vivian simply nodded, she then added, “I just want you to stay safe, alright?”

            Nathan nodded and then took Vivian’s hand, he then responded, “My family would be upset if anything happened to me, that is true. You know that one day, I would like us to become family…even though nothing is official yet.”

            Vivian blushed brightly as they kept moving up the line. As she kept holding her lover’s hand, she saw a small number of people wearing mostly light-blue outfits and carrying signs. They were behind a short fence, placed there for their safety and the safety of those nearby them. Vivian rapidly realized that they were a small contingent of the PLO. She could swear that she even saw Nina with them.

            By the time that Vivian had spotted the group of protestors, she and Nathan were almost inside. Fortunately for Vivian, Nathan was looking the other way at some posters that displayed the Pokémon teams that were to be used by some of the trainers in that evening’s tournament. Vivian quickly lowered her head and looked away from the protestors so that if Nina was there and she looked her way, it would be harder for her to spot Vivian in the line.

            Vivian breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the guards at the entrance to the arena. Nathan presented their two tickets to the guards and they were taken. The young couple was then allowed entrance and told to enjoy the show.

            Once Vivian and Nathan were on their way to their seats, Vivian decided to take a small risk. She asked Nathan, “I saw a small group of people who appeared to be protesting the tournament. Do you know what the deal with that was?”

            Nathan looked annoyed, but not at Vivian. He then told her, “Well, honey, I am surprised you were not aware of this, but those people were probably members of the so-called Pokémon Liberation Organization. They are a bunch of ‘bleeding hearts’ who think that we are subjecting domesticated Pokémon, maybe except for Pokémon pets, to horrible existences and that there is no real bond between human trainers and their Pokémon. As far as I am concerned they are all a bunch of overly sentimental crackpots who believe junk-science theories and religious misinterpretations.”

            Vivian nodded and then asked, “What does the Federation of Pokémon Leagues think about these protests that the PLO has been staging?”

            Nathan thought for a moment as they approached their seats and then he responded, “They see the PLO as the nuisance they are. However, I have heard of occasional examples of violent protests against Pokémon training as well as all kinds of crazy accusations against the FPL from the PLO.”

            Vivian then asked, “Really, like what? I am curious? You know me, I want to be a journalist and we love to get all the facts.”

            Nathan nodded and responded, “From what I have heard, the PLO has accused the FPL of essentially buying the support of a majority of the members of the Global Parliament and many local legislators. They claim that any time any major regulations on Pokémon Training are proposed at any level. The FPL’s bought legislators make all kinds of excuses and block the bills from passing. I just think that most people, including those in power, do not want to mess with the Global Federation’s official sport. This PLO is still a minority faction in politics, their goal of outlawing the use of Pokémon as laborers or ‘gladiators’ worldwide is insane and will never be achieved!”

            Nathan could not help but shout at the end of his long statement. He then calmed down and looked awkwardly around as he sat down with Vivian. He then said, “Sorry about yelling there, darling. I just strongly dislike the idea that Pokémon Training is unethical. They cannot die in these battles. They are safe from being eaten in the wild, and it’s not like we are some primitive civilization from the distant past that uses humans as slave laborers and gladiators. Pokémon are just beasts anyway.”

            Vivian nodded, mentally noting that the subject of Pokémon sentience was still hotly debated. Then, she noticed that the floor of the Federal Gymnasium had been divided into four different sub arenas. Nathan explained to her that the winners of each of the mini-tournaments would pair off into two pairs. Then, the two pairs would battle and the winners of those battles would face off in one final battle to determine the winner of the whole tournament. The professional trainers who competed in this high-level event would all receive some prize money. However, the amount of money they received would depend on how far they made it in the tournament.

            Vivian and Nathan then watched as the eight trainers who had qualified for the tournament took their positions and a number of monitor screens flared to life around the arena. The screens had scoreboards, stats, advertisements and video feeds. Some would change from one type of display to another from time to time.

            As the battles commenced, Nathan smiled and then seemed to mostly disengage his attention from Vivian. He would occasionally point out a particular Pokémon to Vivian as they watched the action unfold. He seemed to be rooting for the two Trainers in the tournament who came from his native land of Skylaria.

            As for Vivian, she did not know what to think at first as her attention darted from one arena to another. She saw Pokémon of a variety of species maneuvering around the arenas, which had become surrounded by energized barriers to prevent move effects from leaking out and harming the trainers, or the audience. The trainers were shouting commands in to their controlled Pokémon like mad and the Pokémon followed those commands to the best of their ability. Nathan had explained that for this tournament, each contestant could only pick three of their Pokémon. Normally, any trainer could carry up to six Pokémon at a time, per FPL regulations. However, in the interest of time and to keep the tournament moving, the number had been set at three in this case. Nathan had also told Vivian that Trainers could keep as many Pokémon as they could catch in storage systems and that some Trainers collected as many Pokémon species as possible rather than focusing mainly on battling.

            As the tournament continued, Vivian began to see Pokémon faint in battle and be returned to their Pokéballs via beams of red energy. Vivian had no clue what sort of science was behind the technology that converted Pokémon into pure energy and back, but she could see the pain that the creatures were experiencing when they withstood a severe injury or fainted. She looked around the stands to see that not many, if any, of her fellow attendees seemed to share in her concern. The fans in the gymnasium, men, women, children, people from all ethnicities and walks of life seemed to be cheering as the Pokémon dueled for their amusement. Vivian was worried to admit it, but she was rapidly beginning to see Nina’s point about how Pokémon Training was akin to gladiatorial slavery.

            The first round was over and four of the eight trainers had been eliminated. Nathan looked annoyed that one of the Skylarian Trainers had been eliminated from the tournament. He focused his energy on rooting for the one who advanced to the next round. Vivian noticed that one of the remaining trainers was an Umbalan, like her. She decided to try and see if she could root for her, especially since she was not battling the Skylarian man who Nathan was supporting.

            As the second round of battles began, Nathan had his arm around Vivian, but was heavily enraptured by the action unfolding below them. She watched as the four arenas had been transformed into two and focused on the side of the arena where the Umbalan trainer squared off against another female trainer, who looked like she was more local.

            As the second set of battles commenced, with the trainers’ Pokémon healed, Vivian could not shake her discomfort with what she saw unfolding. The way that the Pokémon were getting injured, even if they could easily recover, and had no say in it worried her. The fact that they could comprehend their trainers’ commands so exactly, even if they were being compelled to through their Pokéballs technology, made them seem intelligent to her.

            Vivian and Nathan were both somewhat disappointed by the results of round two. The Umbalan trainer and the Skylarian trainer both lost to their opponents. The victorious man and woman then stood at opposite ends of the now unified arena and had their Pokémon healed. One of the announcers’ voices called out that “Mega-Evolution” was now allowed for the final segment. The final battle of the tournament then began.

            The last segment of the tournament was a close one, in the end, each trainer only had one Pokémon left. Vivian had not seen a “Mega-Evolution” yet. Nathan seemed excited as the male trainer called out a draconic Pokémon that Nathan called a Charizard. Then, the female trainer called out a blue Pokémon that Vivian was surprised to see had cannon-like structures protruding from its shell. Nathan called that Pokémon Blastoise. Once both Pokémon were on the field, Vivian saw them both surrounded by shells of energy as the crowd roared. Nathan told her, “They are both Mega-Evolving! This should be interesting.”

            The Charizard’s form had not changed much, it retained the same coloration and grew a few protrusions. The Blastoise mainly had a massive new cannon on top of its back and a pair of smaller cannons on top of its wrists.

            The two Mega-Pokémon duked it out in an impressive fashion. However, the Mega-Blastoise managed to carry the day with a Hydro-Pump which knocked the Mega-Charizard (Y) out of the air and unconscious. Most of the crowd cheered as the female trainer jumped up into the air and then recalled her Blastoise. The tournament was over.

            Vivian and Nathan waited until most of the crowd had filed out to leave the gymnasium. Nathan was upset that the Skylarian trainers had both failed to reach the last stage of the tournament. However, he was pleased with the event as a whole. Vivian did not say much as Nathan drove her back to her apartment. When they arrived, Vivian said that she was not sure what she had thought of the event, after Nathan had asked her for her opinion. The two of them then briefly kissed and Vivian returned to her room. She knew that she had to talk to Nina as soon as possible.


	3. The Rally

The evening after Vivian had attended her first Pokémon Tournament, she was pacing in the living room of her apartment. It was three days until the PLO rally. She had just had dinner with Nina at the apartment and Nina was sitting on the nearby black couch. Vivian ran her fingers nervously through her raven hair as Nina asked, “So, you ask me over for a dinner while your mother is away working over at the insurance company without even a full day of notice. Now, you are pacing in a clearly nervous fashion. What is wrong?”

            Vivian sat down next to Nina and then sighed. She then told her friend, “There is something that I have to tell you. You are not going to like a lot of it…”

            Nina then interjected, “Did you do anything illegal? Can you not come to the rally? You know that your mother wants you to have a practice story ready soon.”

            Vivian then added, “I am still planning on attending the rally, Nina. I have even completed most of my application to the Megapolis Post and have been looking for other, lesser known, news outlets as backup plans. The real thing is… last night I went to a major Pokémon Tournament with Nathan.”

            Nina did not look as surprised as Vivian expected her to, she then replied, “You have never expressed any real interest in that vile ‘sport’ before. You know, I was there with some other members of the PLO protesting that event. I did not see you there, though. So… what did you think?”

            Vivian, told Nina, “You will be happy to know that, even though I did not tell Nathan, I found the whole affair to be somewhat disturbing. It really did look as though the Pokémon were being made to fight each other without any real say in the matter. They also did seem intelligent in their behavior, from what I could tell.”

            Nina smiled at Vivian and then replied, “Well, maybe it was good for you to have seen the brutality of Pokémon Training. Most people who see it cannot seem to comprehend how nefarious it really is. At least, without help that is. Anyways, you should definitely come to the rally in three days. We will meet here and then I will lead the way. Just make sure that you have no plans with Nathan for that day. You have not told him about your plan to attend the rally, right?”

            Vivian nodded no and then told her friend, “I have not told him, but I feel very guilty that I have not.”

            Nina rolled her eyes and then told Vivian, “It is for the best, at least for now, that you don’t tell him. If he is a Pokémon Training fan, then he most certainly hates the PLO and buys the FPL’s propaganda.”

            Vivian nodded yes and then told Nina, “When I mentioned the PLO to him, he called you guys a bunch of bleeding hearts who accused the FPL of buying the support of most of the world’s legislators. He was quite angry with your movement. I think that I will probably just go to this one rally and then not get too involved.… Even though I really don’t think I approve of what the trainers are doing.”

            Nina stood up, put her hands on her hips and then replied, “Vivian Prince! You need to be a bit braver then that! I know that you really like Nathan and don’t want to upset him. However, freedom for Pokémon is a cause worth supporting! Don’t be discouraged just because your boyfriend dislikes the PLO. If you know that stopping the FPL and others like them is the right thing to do, then you should help us! If you need to keep it a secret from Nathan, then fine.”

            Vivian gave Nina a surprised look, she was amazed that her friend had been able to give such a speech off the cuff. She then stood up from the couch and added, “I will go to your rally. However, we will see if your leader Rudolph Stevens can convince me that his cause is just and worth following. We will also have to see what my mother thinks.”

            Nina nodded and then mentioned, “You know, my organizer told me that the PLO is in need of people to manage our website’s content and write articles for it. If you are swayed by the cause, maybe you can get a paying job with our non-profit if the Post rejects you?”

            Vivian simply shrugged her shoulders and said, “My mom would be happy with me getting almost any paying job. However, I would not want to see Nathan’s reaction if he figured out that I was working for the people trying to illegalize his favorite sport.”

            Nina did not seriously reply to Vivian’s latest statement. She then said, “Well, I will see you in three days. Let’s meet at noon then. Please consider my offer. You should apply for a PLO job if you realize that our cause is righteous.”

            Nina then gave Vivian a brief hug and then was on her way, leaving Vivian to question what her next move after attending the PLO rally would be.

            Vivian did not see Nathan again before the day of the rally. She was supposed to see him next two days after it for dinner. Of course, Nathan was unaware of Vivian’s plan to attend the weekend rally. Vivian intended to keep it that way. The only possible exception being if she was repulsed by the PLO member’s behavior at their own rally to the point where she would feel comfortable with telling Nathan that she had “fraternized with his enemies” and that Nina was also one of them.

            The day of the rally, just after an early lunch, Nina picked up Vivian at noon and then took her to the park where the rally was to take place. At the park, a small number of PLO members wearing light tan-brown security uniforms patrolled the area, while most of the people passing sign-up sheets, petitions and the like were wearing light-blue outfits. All of the PLO members had at least one symbol consisting of a Pokéball with a red circle-slash symbol over it somewhere on their clothes. 

            Nina, who was wearing one of the light-blue shirts herself, led Vivian, who was wearing her normal red top and black pants, over to a middle-aged man with light skin and greying hair. When the two young women reached him, he turned around and smiled at Nina. Nina then told Vivian, “This gentleman is Jeb Brooks, my organizer. I believed I mentioned him before, if not by name. Jeb, this is my close friend Vivian Prince. She is interested in writing a piece on this event to help her apply for a reporter job.”

            Jeb smiled over at Vivian and then shook her hand vigorously. He then said, “Nice to meet you, miss Vivian. We could use some more outside media coverage. Our movement is growing, but not fast enough. I hope that you enjoy Mr. Steven’s speech today. He is really an impressive man. He was born into a wealthy corporate family, which owns both a major logging company and a major furniture company. He decided to retire early from the family business and work for the liberation of Pokémon from their bondage. His father was a preacher, to be fair. His uncle’s and aunt’s ran the business and now their children do…”

            Nina then interrupted, “Jeb likes to talk about Mr. Stevens to whoever will listen. He really admires our Chairman.”

            Jeb nodded and then said, “I will finally be a part of his next strategy meeting this afternoon after the rally. Nina, I would like for you to come with me. I am allowed to take up to two of my trusted volunteers and you have demonstrated intense commitment to our cause.”

            Nina smiled back at Jeb, she quickly replied, “I will come, but only if Vivian can come and meet Mr. Stevens. Even if she cannot sit in on the meeting itself. I want her to meet him in person with me, even if his speech does not sway her to our side by then.”

            Vivian smiled and sighed, she then agreed, “I will go, if it gets approved by this Mr. Stevens of yours.”

            Jeb nodded his understanding and then said, “Well, I see that Mr. Stevens’ car convoy is coming closer. We should get to a good spot to watch his speech.”

            Nina and Vivian followed Jeb to a place where a number of PLO volunteers and employees were gathered as the security details took their places. Nina told Vivian, “There have been some violent reactions from the more extreme supporters of the FPL and Pokémon Training to our events. Sometimes we get counter-protests, but they do not always stay peaceful. The police seem willing to keep our protests in line, but not always to protect us from violence as it happens. The government gives us permits for our public events, but I have heard that they do it reluctantly a lot of the time.”

            At that point the crowd was asked to be silent and a number of attendees got out anti-FPL and anti-training signs. Some of the common signs that Vivian noticed were: FPL: stop buying our politicians, End Pokémon Slavery, Rudolph Stevens for Prime Minister, The Abuse of Pokémon is an abomination unto Arceus, Humans: Do you own work…or build machines to do it, Ban human ownership of Pokémon, entertainment at the expense of others freedom is not fair play and, Free the Pokémon.

            As Vivian was scanning the crowd, she saw a pair of armed men and one armed woman escorting an older looking man with light skin, white hair, and a medium length beard to the podium on the raised platform that had been set up for the rally. He was wearing a dark blue suit and the crowd cheered when they saw him. They began chanting, “Stevens! Stevens! Stevens!” Over and over again. Nina and Jeb both seemed very excited to see the man.

            Chairman Stevens took the podium and then smiled down at the cheering crowd. The cheering stopped when he tapped his microphone to make sure it was working.

            The PLO Chairman then began, calmly, “Hello everyone, I am immensely please to see all of you here today. I would like to start by thanking those among you who participated in the recent protest at the Federal Gymnasium. It was quite brave of all of them to protest at such a major gladiatorial event.”

            As Mr. Stevens cleared his throat and the crowd waited with baited breath, Vivian felt a tad guilty that she had been at the tournament he was almost certainly talking about.

            Then, Chairman Stevens continued, as he began to pace the platform, “Now, most of you came here to hear me speak. Be assured that I will not let you down. …. Today, as I speak to you, thousands, if not millions, of innocent Pokémon, as we humans have dubbed them, suffer what we can only begin to imagine! They live as forced laborers or, even worse, gladiators who are forced to do battle for their merciless masters over and over again, never seeing peace!”

            The crowd booed, but they were clearly not booing the speaker. Some of them waved their signs back and forth. Few of them were silent. Chairman Stevens then added, “There is a bright spot to all of this, there is still hope for our fellow inhabitants of this world. For we have come together to focus our efforts to finally remove the enslavement of Pokémon from the Global Federation. Make no mistake, our number are growing. Our message of freedom for all is getting out, despite our lack of major media coverage. However, our opponents still resist that righteous message. Those who profit off the suffering of the innocent are using all of their ill-gotten influence to suppress us. They are funding the campaigns of politicians sympathetic to their abusive behavior! They are telling major media sources that we are a bunch of ‘bleeding heart crackpots’ who are not worth their attention! The Federation of Pokémon Leagues and their allies are, and will continue to be, the greatest roadblock to a world where Pokémon can live freely! It is our greatest sin as a species that we are enslaving Pokémon! We have abolished war and united as one humanity in a way never before seen, but there is still the great work of establishing Pokémon liberty to be done!”

            The crowd roared as Mr. Stevens took a breath. Vivian had, like everyone else focused her attention on him. She had to admit, she was very impressed with the PLO leader abilities as an orator.

            Mr. Stevens then continued again, “What we need now is to begin the process of establishment of a strong political opposition to the FPL-connected legislators in both the Global and Local legislatures. We must work actively to elect those who understand the suffering of the oppressed and abused Pokémon and will do their best to do something about it. In order to do that, we will need all of you to volunteer your time and energy to our mission! All over this world, local offices of the PLO are opening and recruiting new members to the struggle for universal freedom! Remember that the FPL and their supporters will stop at nothing to weaken and discredit us. They get so much enjoyment and profit off of the suffering of others that their hearts have gone cold. It is they who have lost their humanity, not us!”

            The crowd cheered again, this time even louder than before. Vivian was concerned about Mr. Steven’s attacks on FPL supporters, since she always saw Nathan as a very humane person, at least in his actions towards other humans. But, she did feel as though his overall message was a positive one.

            Chairman Stevens spoke for the next half-hour, as Vivian took notes. When he was done, the crowd applauded and cheered one more time. As Vivian put away her notebook, after finishing her notes, the main crowd slowly dispersed. A number of organizers, volunteers and Mr. Stevens himself headed into a nearby office building, where they had reserved a conference room for their strategy meeting.

            Vivian followed Nina, who, along with Jeb, seemed excited about being a part of the strategy meeting, up to the door of the conference room. Vivian was asked to wait in the antechamber until the meeting was over. She spent the next one and a half hours on her smartphone, hoping that the battery would not wind down fully before the meeting was finished.

            Finally, the PLO members filed out of the room. After most of them had left. Rudolph Stevens, Jeb, Nina and two PLO security guards were left. Nina walked over to Vivian and led her over to the others. Jeb was talking to one of the guards about his job as Mr. Stevens shook the hand of the nervous Vivian.

Nina smiled as Mr. Stevens told Vivian, “Your friend miss Hale seemed very insistent that I meet you, miss Prince. She really wants you to join our organization. I would hope that today’s event gave you an idea of the urgency of our crusade to liberate the enslaved Pokémon.”

Vivian, who decided not to complain about his portrayal of FPL supporters replied, “Your speech was very inspiring. I understand my friend’s loyalty to your movement more fully now. Thank you for taking the time to meet me.”

Rudolph then bowed to Vivian and Nina and then he and his two guards left the vicinity, with a smiling Jeb in tow. Nina then told Vivian, “I know that your practice piece should sound mostly neutral, journalistic integrity and all, but I saw how enraptured you were when the boss was speaking. You should seriously consider applying for a job at our local headquarters.”

Vivian sighed, smiled at Nina and then replied, “We will see. For now, I have an article to write up within the next couple of days. We will see how this all turns out.”

            Nina nodded and then the two young women left the building and headed home. Vivian had work to do.


	4. Looking for a Job

That afternoon, Vivian wrote up and edited her practice story on the PLO rally. She made her story sound as objective as possible and then emailed it, along with her application, to the proper address listed on the Megapolis Post’s website the next day.

The day after that, she had dinner with Nathan at a restaurant they frequented. Vivian did not dare to tell him of her recent PLO activities and was very nervous when he asked her as they were awaiting their food, “So, have you sent the Post a practice story yet?”

            Vivian nodded and then replied, “I have sent in an application. The content of the story would not interest you. Anyway, how has your training at the police academy been going?”

            Nathan smiled back at Vivian and told her, “I will have my final exam in a week. It will involve a written test, and a series of physical tests. I was wondering, since you are still unemployed, if you could help me with my studying? If I pass this last test, I will graduate just a couple of days after the examination.”

            Vivian gave Nathan a grin and asked, “Does this mean you will have to ‘arrest’ me during our practice sessions?”

            Nathan smiled, slightly awkwardly, back at Vivian, he then responded, “Yes, but that will not be the majority of what we will be doing. I know you have taken a few self-defense classes, so we might end up practicing some hand to hand combat as well. What do you say?”

            Vivian nodded yes and said, “I would be happy to help. Just let me know what times and as long as I’m not with Nina, or anyone else, we can get to work.”

            Nathan smiled back at Vivian and then asked her, “Honey, did you like the tournament I took you to a few days ago? I did not get much of a reaction from you with regard to that evening.”

            Vivian tried to show as little of her real feelings about Pokémon Training on her face as possible, she then told Nathan, “I thought that it was interesting. It was unlike any other sporting events I had seen before. I was a little bit concerned for the Pokémon, honestly. If it is something you enjoy, then I will not stop you from enjoying it. I just was not hugely into the whole thing.”

            Nathan shrugged his shoulders and then responded, “Well, it was worth a try. I know that watching Pokémon battles is not for everyone. I just was hoping that if you got into it, then we could enjoy those kinds of events together. Anyway, I would not worry too much about the ‘mons’ themselves, they are just beasts. Besides, as I mentioned before, they cannot die from staged battles. I have never heard of it happening once. There could be lawsuits against the makers of the Pokéballs, or something like that, if a Pokémon actually died in a staged battle.”

            Vivian nodded and then the couple’s food arrived. Later that night, Nathan took Vivian back to his apartment. As they were eating some ice cream he had saved in his freezer for after their dinner, Nathan told Vivian that he would let her know when he would need her help over the next week tomorrow. After that, the two of them spent the night together and the next day, Vivian returned to her own apartment, as usual.

            It turned out that Nathan needed Vivian’s help pretty quickly. Over the next three days, Vivian helped Nathan study and prepare for his upcoming final exam. As the two of them spent more time together then they had in a while, Vivian felt more and more guilty that she had not told him the truth. However, she was still too afraid to say anything to him about her presence at the recent PLO rally.

After three days of hard work studying and practicing, Nathan told Vivian that he needed a one day break. He told her that he would like to continue their studying the day after and then finish up the day before the exam. Vivian agreed and she met up with Nina at the coffee shop she now managed during her break day.

When Nina herself was on a lunch break, she sat down with Vivian. Vivian started off the conversation by saying, “I noticed that you have put up PLO flyers and pamphlets all over the shop. If Nathan comes back in here, he will be suspicious…to say the least.”

Nina sighed and then replied, “If Mr. Ford comes back in here. then, he has every right to hate me. And I have every right to throw him out of the shop if he acts out. Speaking of Nathan, have you told him the truth yet? What about your story?”

Vivian answered, “First, my boyfriend is about to be Officer Ford. Even though that does not give him the right to remove your flyers. I have not told him about what I have been up to with the PLO lately. As for my story, it has been sent. I have not received a response yet, though.”

Nina nodded and then replied, “You know, the PLO office in Megapolis is always looking for new recruits. We still need a permanent employee who can run some of our website’s news functions. You know how to write news articles on a computer, you should be fine for the job.”

Vivian gave Nina a serious look and then said, “I would need to invent a cover story for Nathan, if I took that offer. I would not be able to work at that sort of job forever, especially if Nathan ‘pops the question.’ You know that I would say yes if he asked for my hand in marriage. Let me wait until the Post gets back to me and then we will talk about it.”

Nina face-palmed and then admitted, “I really never liked him. Not from the moment I asked you to have him turn down that TV. I honestly hate the thought of him having you. Anyway, I think that you have been mostly swayed by the just cause of the PLO. You are only afraid about his reaction if/when he learns the truth. I don’t blame you, entirely. Pokémon Training fans can get very defensive about the whole thing. As I think you have seen with Nathan, already.”

Vivian rolled her eyes and then replied, “I know that you are just trying to look out for me. But, I do love Nathan. I know that withholding important information from someone you love is wrong, I am just afraid that he will want to break up with me if I tell him the truth. That would go double if I actually join the PLO.”

Nina then finished, “You will have to let your conscience be your guide. I still think that you deserve better than him. Just remember the suffering of the innocent Pokémon.”

Vivian nodded and then, as Nina was eating her lunch, pointed out, “I think that when you say I deserve better than him, you mean someone who agrees with you politically.”

Nina stopped eating for a quick moment, blushed, and then nodded yes. She then got back to eating.

The next two days after her lunch with Nina, Vivian continued to help train Nathan for his fast-approaching final exam. The evening before the exam was to take place, the two of them had decided to conclude their studying and have a quick swim in the small pool behind Nathan’s apartment complex. After they were done swimming, Nathan and Vivian were cuddling on a large pool chair. Vivian was wearing a red bikini and Nathan was wearing some light-green swim trunks.

            As Nathan held Vivian closely but gently, she looked into his eyes and told him, “You know, we have done our best to prepare you fully for tomorrow’s exam. Just remember to focus on the exam, you know that I love you, no matter what happens.”

            Nathan gently kissed Vivian on her lips and responded, “Thanks, babe. I love you no matter what happens also. You did an amazing job helping me get ready for the exam. I think that I will get the 80% or higher that I will need in order to be certified as a police officer.”

            Vivian sighed internally and then decided that telling the man she loved a half-truth was better than lying to him 100%. She slowly told him, “You should know…that my best friend Nina Hale is in that PLO group that we talked about at the tournament. She has put up their flyers and pamphlets at the coffee shop she manages.”

            Nathan put his hand that was not holding Vivian on his head and then said, “I knew there was a reason she did not like me. Now I know why. She does not like me because I am a Pokémon Training fan. However, I cannot make you choose your friends. Still…I think I should stay out of her coffee shop from now on.”

            Vivian nodded and then said, “Nina is pretty self-righteous. She is a true believer in the whole Pokémon liberation thing. She has apparently even met Rudolph Stevens….”

            Nathan then rolled his eyes and very briefly gripped Vivian much more tightly. He said, “Please don’t mention his name to me, darling. That man is a dangerous fanatic and a real crackpot! I have heard some rumors that he has claimed to his inner circle that he is seeing visions from a powerful Legendary Pokémon claiming that Arceus wants him to free the enslaved Pokémon. Those rumors are unsubstantiated, but I still think that he is a total nutcase.”

            Vivian nodded and then said, “I am sorry that I brought him up. Shall we head off to bed now?”

            As Vivian smiled and started getting up, Nathan also began getting up. He told her, “Sorry, my love, I need to focus on getting the best sleep I can before the examination tomorrow. Besides, we were together a whole lot over the last week. I will text you once I know my final score. I will get you home, though.”

            Vivian and Nathan shared one more gentle kiss and then quickly showered together. They then went back to Vivian’s apartment building, where they parted.

            The next day, in the late afternoon, Vivian was talking to her mother, who was home from work that day. Pamela asked her, “Have you heard back from the Megapolis Post yet?”

            Vivian nodded and then replied, “That is why I wanted to talk to you, mom. They said they would hold on to my application, but they are not interested in hiring me for now.”

            Pamela sighed and then added, “At least you made the effort. I still expect you to look for other employment possibilities. I know it would probably make Nathan upset, but you might want to consider applying for that PLO job that Nina told you about.”

            In that moment, Vivian regretted the fact that she kept no secrets from her mother. She then said, “I will discuss it with Nina the next time that we talk. I still don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize my relationship with Nathan. You always said that you approved of him as my boyfriend.”

            Pamela sighed and nodded, saying, “You still need a job and you still need to follow your conscience. If you take the PLO job and Nathan finds out, then we will see if he really cares about you more than cares about his own convictions about that organization.”

            Vivian was about to reply to what her mother hand just said when her phone, which was on the kitchen table dinged. Vivian ran over to it and saw that Nathan had texted her, “As you should remember, I needed an 80% to pass the final exam.”

            Vivian looked a bit confused, but then she saw the indicator telling her that another text message was incoming.

            The second text then showed up, it said, “My final score was a 96%! :) Thank you the help, darling. The graduation takes place in two days. I will send you more information before then. …I love you.”

            Vivian looked very happy and excited and then told her mother, “Nathan passed! He got 16% higher than he needed! They must tabulate the scores pretty quickly these days.”

            Pamela smiled and nodded, she then replied, “I will go with you to see him graduate. Remember though, that even if you don’t take the PLO job, you should tell him the truth about the rally. Good relationships are built on trust.”

            Vivian nodded and then said, “Well, you and dad trusted each other. But, your marriage fell apart when you wanted to move to this continent. So, I am not sure how valuable your advice is here. I will at least consider it, though.”

            Pamela sighed and then put one of her hands on her head. She then told Vivian, “Just let me know when you have the time and place for Nathan’s graduation. I am going to go get dinner ready.”          

            In two days, Vivian and Pamela attended the graduation ceremony as Nathan’s guests. The ceremony was held in the backyard of the Megapolis Central Police Station. They all watched the hour-long ceremony, at which the thirty new graduates were all declared officers of the law by the chief of police.

            After the ceremony was over, Nathan came over as Vivian and Pamela were leaving the stands. Vivian and Nathan embraced and kissed and then Pamela shook Nathan’s hand. As the three of them had dinner together, Vivian decided that she was not going to tell Nathan about the PLO rally she had attended for a little while because she did not want to ruin his good mood.

            That night, Pamela returned to her apartment, while Nathan and Vivian returned to Nathan’s apartment and enjoyed the night together.

            A couple of days later, Nathan had been given his patrol area, which was nearby where he and Vivian lived. While Nathan was now employed, Pamela was still bothering Vivian about her getting a job. Vivian finally decided that she had to go and talk to Nina that evening, thinking, “If I get the job and Nathan learns the truth, it will be the real test of his love. If we stay together through that, we should be able to survive just about anything as a couple.”


	5. The Pokémon Liberation Organization

It was after closing time when Vivian walked up to Nina’s coffee shop to find her friend locking up the establishment for the night. Vivian walked up behind Nina, who had not yet noticed her, and asked, “Hey, can we talk?”

            Nina recognized Vivian’s voice and continued her work. She then replied, “Sure, what do you need? Last time I checked in with you, you had just attended your pro-slavery boyfriend’s graduation. I personally don’t think we need more people like him in any kind of public service.”

            Vivian folded her arms as Nina finished and then turned around, she then said, “I told him of your involvement with the PLO. It turns out that he knows who Rudolph Stevens is, and hates his guts. I haven’t yet told him that I was at the rally.”

            Nina nodded and then asked, “So, what do you actually need to talk to me about? Sorry about my jabs at Nathan earlier, but tensions between the pro-slavery and pro-freedom factions are rising all over the world. The mainstream news in a number of places is starting to cover the conflict more seriously!”

            Vivian nodded as they began walking back toward the area where they each lived, she then said, “I want to know more about this PLO job opportunity. My mom is pushing me to find work even harder, since I was rejected by the Megapolis Post.”

            Nina nodded and then replied, “Honestly, I have told you all that I know. Jeb, on the other hand, would know a lot more about what positions are open with the local PLO and what they require. My assistant manager is going to run the shop tomorrow, so I am spending the day canvassing for the PLO and helping send out reminders to donate and volunteer to already registered members. There are rumors that Mr. Stevens is planning a series of marches all over the world, with the biggest one happening here in Megapolis. The marches will probably take place within a few months, three at most, if it all works out. To get back to the point, you can come in with me tomorrow and meet with Jeb. You two can talk about the job opening then.”

            Vivian nodded and then said, “I guess that I will meet with you in the lobby of your apartment building tomorrow morning, just give me the time.”

            Nina nodded and then said, “I will send it to you once I check some things at home, right before I go to bed.”

            Vivian then added, “If I get a job writhing articles, I will want to post them under some sort of pseudonym. Just in case Nathan, or someone he knows, sees them.”

            Nina sighed and then replied, “That sounds a bit cowardly to me, but you can ask Jeb if that will work.”

            Vivian nodded and then said, “I will at least think of a pseudonym. That way, I will already have one ready when I talk to Jeb tomorrow.”

            Nina just nodded again and then, as they were about to split up, finished, “Viv, I really do think that you support the cause of Pokémon freedom. You know, one of these days I envision a world where, if they are truly intelligent, Pokémon will build their own towns and cities. They should not have to live in our shadow forever. A world where anyone can be free should be worth whatever gets sacrificed on the way. Try to remember that with regard to Nathan and his precious ‘sport.’”

            Vivian, still impressed with her friend’s devotion to the PLO’s cause, replied, “You are a very committed person, Nina…. I think you are at least partially right. I did not like seeing those Pokémon being forced to battle each other. Maybe the world would be better off without that ‘sport’ even if a lot of people become resentful of its absence?”

            Nina grinned back at Vivian and then the two young women split up and returned to their respective apartments.

            The next day, Vivian met up with Nina at the previously agreed upon spot and the two young women made their way over to the main PLO office in the area. Nina seemed to know the PLO security guard stationed in front of the small red-brown brick building, she was let inside with no trouble and so was Vivian. Once inside, Nina told Vivian to wait for her while she went to go locate Jeb.

As Vivian waited for Nina to return with her organizer, she saw that much of the office was occupied by people on phones or at computers. The more open spaces were filled with volunteers and organizers who were getting ready to go canvas, or perform some other activity for their organization. There were also doors leading to the personal offices of a few high-ranking members on the opposite sides of the room and some paintings on the walls with pictures of happy-looking Pokémon and destroyed Pokéballs with captions such as, “This is what we’re fighting for.”

It wasn’t long until Nina and Jeb came out of one of the smaller personal offices. Like Nina, Jeb was wearing a light-blue shirt bearing the PLO symbol of a Pokéball with a red circle-slash over it. Jeb smiled at Vivian and shook her hand, saying, “Good to see you again. Your friend Nina here says that you are interested in a job with us now. It seems that the rally with Mr. Stevens has inspired you after all.”

Vivian replied, “I am willing to have an interview with you about a position on your website staff. Journalism is my usual specialty. However, I think I could write up some good articles for the PLO’s website if given accurate information by your field researchers.”

            Jeb nodded and then told Nina, “My deputy is handling today’s canvassing. You should go report to him. Today, you all will targeting people in the selected area, who we know are ‘on the fence’ about the slavery issue, so it will be unlikely you will be yelled at by some FPL ally or sympathizer this time. I will talk to miss Prince here in my office.”

            Nina nodded enthusiastically and then saluted Jeb, a gesture which surprised Vivian. Jeb returned Nina’s salute and then Nina walked over to where a number of her fellow canvassers were gathering. Then, Jeb led Vivian into his small office.

As Vivian sat down in the only other chair in the office besides Jeb’s, he took a seat behind his desk. The office was not well decorated, but it had a window, which Vivian was facing and a few stickers with PLO slogans on them scattered around the small room. Vivian began by asking Jeb, as she handed him a resume she had brought in her purse, “So, Mr. Brooks, what sorts of qualifications do I need for this job…”

            Even though Vivian had more to say, Jeb interjected, “With regard to job qualifications, what matters most to us is commitment to the cause of ending the enslavement of Pokémon. However, I will quickly look your resume over and then we will talk about this in more detail.”

            Vivian nodded and then Jeb examined her resume carefully, after about five minutes, he smiled at her and then said, “Your educational qualifications look fine. You do have a lack of actual work experience, but that is something we can deal with. Now, what about your willingness to work for the liberation of Pokémon?”

            Vivian replied, “I will admit that I was present at the very Pokémon Tournament that Mr. Stevens congratulated Nina and others for protesting at the rally where you and I met. The thing was, I was invited there by someone else who he really enjoyed it. As for me, I truly did not like seeing those Pokémon mindlessly battling each other into unconsciousness. It was decently unsettling. I will tell you that.”

            Jeb, who had been patiently listening, added, “I assume that the man you were with was your ‘bastard boyfriend’ as Nina calls him?”

            Vivian face-palmed, quite annoyed and a bit surprised that Nina disliked Nathan enough to talk about him while she was volunteering. Then she said, “Yes, that is correct. He is why I was reluctant to interview for this job. He would hate it if my involvement with this organization came to his attention.”

            Jeb nodded and then looking concerned asked, “You do realize that someone who writes articles, for just about any website or physical publication, has their real name attached to every piece they write. To top that, they normally have a mini-biography attached to the website as well. Even if he never checks on the PLO website, if a friend or relative of his who knows who you are sees it…”

            Vivian then interjected, “Well, I would want to write under an alias if I got the job. I already have a fake name, ‘May Benson’ ready for use. I even used the photo-editing software on my laptop computer to create a fake personal image. The only similarity between the edited picture and the real me is that we are both Umbalan women. I think that I can come up with a false biography without too much trouble as well.”

            Jeb looked somewhat uneasy at Vivian’s proposal. He then responded, “Even though I sort of understand your motivations for hiding who you really are, it does seem cowardly. However, the PLO has no official regulations against the falsifying of identities in order to protect members and employees from personal retribution.”

            Vivian then looked cautiously hopeful and asked Jeb, “So, do I get the job then?”

            Jeb looked over Vivian’s resume and then said, “Here is what I can offer you right now. Create your fake bio and send it to me via email. Send it along with your fake name and edited picture as soon as you can. I will give you a one week trial period. We will see if your work is good enough to justify, to my fellow organizers and employees, the idea of keeping someone working under a false identity on our paid staff here. If after a week we agree that you are not worth keeping on staff, you will be paid for the week and then fired. We might also extend the trial period, or just hire you on permanently if we like your work enough. Is that a deal?”

            Vivian nodded and then shook Jeb’s hand. He then told her, “Be here tomorrow at 1:00 PM. I will probably have a workstation ready for you then. Bring your laptop, in case you won’t have an open computer here. Send in what I just asked for before then if you can. I look forward to working with you, miss Prince.”

            Vivian then saluted Jeb, following the custom that she had seen with Nina earlier. She then was allowed to leave the office after texting Nina about what had just happened.

            When Vivian was on the way home, Nina texted her back, “So happy for you! I am so proud of you right now! Your mom should also be very happy!”

            Vivian could not help but smile as she read Nina’s message. She could not help but be worried about the possibility of Nathan discovering her new occupation. She decided she would need a cover story, at least for the time being.

            When Vivian returned to her apartment, she told her mother about her being hired and the two of them shared a long embrace. Pamela, as Vivian had expected, told her daughter that she was to do her very best work in her first week so as to get hired on permanently. Pamela also promised to try to help Vivian with a cover story in the likely event that Nathan would probe her on the job search that was for now, in reality, over.

            That night, Vivian went to sleep, both relieved and concerned. She was worried in the back of her head that, despite her following her conscience by joining the PLO as an employee, she was leaving the ‘frying pan’ of her mother’s exhortations to get a job and entering the ‘fire’ of lying to Nathan to try to avoid dealing with his likely feelings of anger and betrayal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers, I just wanted to express my pleasure at having received over 900 total hits on my stories so far. I know that there is a ton of overlap, but it still puts me at under 100 left to 1,000 total hits! Anyway, thank you all for reading, again.


	6. The Cause

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, I experienced some strange issues with indenting on Word when posting this chapter. I do not know why. Hopefully it does not negatively effect your reading experience too much.

            Vivian made sure that she sent in her alias, fake bio and edited personal picture to Jeb’s email before she returned to the PLO office the next day. Nina had called Vivian the evening after her interview and told her that she was planning on finding a way to spend more time working for the PLO, especially now that Vivian was going to be one of their employees.

            When she walked in the front door of the PLO office, after being let through by the security guard, Vivian was greeted by Jeb Brooks, who told her, speaking somewhat rapidly, “Welcome to your first day on the job, Vivian. We have a small space set up for you for now. It’s possible that you will be able to do some of your, purely computerized, work for us from home later on. I see that you have brought a larger bag this time, is your laptop in there?”

            Vivian smiled and nodded back at Jeb and then replied, “I am ready to work, and yes, I brought my computer with me this time. Just show me to my station and tell me what I have to do.”

            Jeb grinned and then walked Vivian over to a place where there was a basic chair in front of a table. Vivian placed her laptop on the table and then plugged it into a nearby outlet.

            Vivian was given instructions for how to properly log on to the PLO’s main website as a contributor. Then, she was able to post her fake name, bio and photo to her personal account. Jeb had informed her that the other PLO organizers had decided to take the risk of hiring Vivian for the next week, mainly because of her friendship with loyal PLO member and volunteer Nina.

            Vivian’s first few assignments on her new job involved posting some reports about PLO rallies and protests around the world. She was instructed to give her reporting the most positive slant for the PLO that she could practically come up with. When she asked about objective journalism, she was reminded that she was now employed by a biased advocacy group that was not interested in being a neutral news source.

            After her first few days of working for the PLO, Vivian’s postings seemed to be doing their job and had impressed the organizers enough that she was given a new assignment. The assignment was to write some pieces about protests made by FPL sympathizers against PLO rallies, as well as some attempts made to counter-protest the PLO in multiple locations. Vivian had to “shift gears” a bit in order to start typing up articles that focused on the callousness of Training supporters. She felt slightly guilty about writing badly about people who were, for all she knew, very similar to Nathan.

            As for Nathan, Vivian had told him that she was still looking for a long-term job. She explained her being unavailable when she was, in reality, working for the PLO by saying that she was doing whatever odd jobs she could around the neighborhood. She also hoped that her excuse would explain the money she was going to receive as pay for her work. Nathan did not seem interested in probing further than what she was willing to tell him, so their relationship did not suffer. Still, Vivian felt a strong degree of guilt whenever she was with Nathan because she knew she was lying to him. Vivian decided that if she was fired after her trial period was up, she would come clean to her boyfriend entirely. If she was not fired, then at least she finally had a secure job.

            A week from when she had begun her work for the PLO, Vivian arrived at the office, which seemed to be in a frenzied mood. Jeb briskly walked up to her and told her, “Vivian, the other organizers and I have decided to give you a special assignment. Depending on how well-written and effective your next article is, we will keep you on staff or fire you.”

            Vivian nodded and then asked, “Everyone seems almost panicked. What just happened?”

            Nina then walked over to Jeb and Vivian and then Jeb responded, “I will allow miss Hale to tell you…”

            Nina explained to Vivian, “We are not sure exactly why now, but last night Geraldo Rodriguez, the Prime Minister of the Global Federation, gave a speech to the press. His speech was in response to the rapidly escalating tensions across the world over the use of Pokémon by humans.”

            Jeb then added, “As we expected, PM Rodriguez spoke against our mission of freedom. He denied that Pokémon are being enslaved and said that the majority of GF officials stood with him in asking the PLO to reconsider what they are doing. We believe that he is likely being pressured by FPL lobbyists and others who profit from the use of Pokémon to do whatever he can to shut down the threat to their profits. What we want you to do is watch his speech and come up with a response to it that we can put on our website. Your essay will not be our only response. However, we need something up on the website while Mr. Stevens plans his own press conference to respond officially to the Prime Minister.”

            Nina then put her hand on Vivian’s shoulder and told her, “I believe in you, you know. This is your ‘trial by fire,’ but I believe that you can succeed in this task. Good luck, I need to help the other’s with ‘damage control’ after that speech.”

            Vivian hurried over to her computer and then got on to the Megapolis Post website. Once there, she easily found the video of Prime Minister Rodriguez’s speech about the PLO. When she clicked on it, she saw the Prime Minister, wearing a dark green suit and standing in front of a room full of security guards and journalists. He had tanned skin and short, surprisingly uncombed, black hair, as well as a large mustache on his upper lip.

PM Rodriguez’s speech began, “My fellow citizens, it has come to my attention that our world’s tradition of Pokémon training, which is shared by almost every province of our proud federation, is coming under attack from angry dissidents. This ‘Pokémon Liberation Organization” has made claims against our official sport and other ways in which humans have made use of the powers of Pokémon. I want to make it clear that, while we know democracy will have to allow for dissenters, I stand with the majority of federation officials who oppose this PLO group’s objectives.”

Vivian continued watching, the press in the room were rapidly taking notes on their electronic devices as PM Rodriguez took a breath and a short drink of water.

The Prime Minister then continued, “The PLO claims that human use of Pokémon is actually a terrible form of slavery that we are forcing on possibly sentient beings. I will not wade into the complex sentience question at this moment. However, I believe that the members of the PLO are mistaken with regard to the level of suffering that human-controlled Pokémon are experiencing. Pokémon who have human owners are safely out of the wild. They have access to modern medical technology and are away from any potential predators. To add, they get to live within an advanced and peaceful civilized society. Many of them live as pets and are not made to engage in labor. Need I remind the dissident faction that it is illegal to kill a Pokémon unprovoked in all federation provinces. Humans are not using Pokémon as slaves. We are providing them with security and safety. We are uplifting them, not oppressing them. I know that I cannot suppress the protest actions of the PLO legally, without a declaration of a state of emergency, which would obviously need the approval of the Global Parliament. However, I call on the members of the PLO to remember their civic duties and the importance that our culture and society have placed on the use of Pokémon in the modern era. With that, I ask all of our citizens not to do anything that would put the peace that we and our ancestors have worked so hard to build in danger. Thank you all for listening.”

While Vivian appreciated the mostly calm tone of the speech, it did reinforce the underdog nature of the PLO in her mind. She also could not help but wonder if the Prime Minister had ever seen a Pokémon battle in person. Surely he had witnessed the brutality on display in those fights?

Vivian then got to work crafting her response to the speech. As the chaos of the office whirled around her, she focused in on her work and was able to craft a short piece, which she saved on her word processor and then printed out a copy of.

            That evening, Nina, Jeb and a significant number of other PLO members were gathered at the office. Vivian was wearing her own PLO shirt, which she had kept well hidden from Nathan when he had recently visited her apartment, as she began her speech. She was to give her speech before the office and then the assembled members, organizers and volunteers were to judge her work and vote on if it was to be posted to the website before the next morning. Vivian nervously began, “Mr. Prime Minister, after watching and considering your speech carefully, I can say that you have not been able to prove that the use of Pokémon by humans is not slavery. You claim that Pokémon are being ‘uplifted’ by their involvement with humans. However, you neglect the reality that most of them cannot freely walk our streets and even if they were allowed to, they would never be viewed as our equals by most people. They may be a part of a civilization, but they are not reaping nearly enough of the benefits that civilization brings. Even more importantly, you forget that the Pokémon being controlled by humans are normally captured in their natural habitats or born into their sorry condition. They never had a choice in the direction that their lives took. The Pokéballs that are used on them exert influence over their minds and truly eliminate the element of choice from their existences.”

Vivian took a brief moment and then continued, “Also, did you avoid the sentience question because you know that is one of the best possible arguments for Pokémon liberation? The faiths of most of the world say that our creator was a Pokémon, Arceus, and that sort of being would have to be intelligent in order to make our world work the way it does. However, even if Pokémon are truly mindless beasts, they are living creatures and they still can feel the pain of attacks striking and blasting them in battles that they never chose to fight. They can still feel the ache of their muscles as they are used a slave laborers. They are never paid for their work, which you say is so integral to our society. Human workers have to be paid minimum wage or higher by federation law! To conclude, you claim that we are lifting Pokémon up, but, if you dig a little deeper, the evidence simply is not there. With regard to our civic duty, I know that I plan to vote only for politicians who support freeing the Pokémon in future elections. The FPL will not buy me like they have bought you!”

Vivian was pretty sure that her conclusion would “earn her some points” and it did. The small crowd cheered at the end of Vivian’s speech. Nina almost immediately tackle-hugged her and Jeb looked very pleased. Then, a trio of PLO security guards walked through the crowds, with them was Rudolph Stevens who smiled at Vivian. Everyone looked stunned to see the PLO’s leader.

Chairman Stevens said, “I was just checking in on morale at this office after our recent potential setback. However, it seems that our new hire miss Prince has come up with a solid response to the PM’s attacks on our movement. I had just entered when she began speaking so I told my security detail to wait quietly while the speech was given. I am giving my permission for the response Miss Prince has made to be put up. We might add something about how Pokémon being able to access a small number of modern conveniences is not worth them losing their freedom, otherwise it is excellent.”

Jeb ordered Vivian to edit and post her response, after giving her a high-five. Then he asked Mr. Stevens, “Sir, what else are we going to do to make sure we do not lose our momentum?”

Rudolph Stevens then responded, “In approximately two months we are going to have public marches supporting the liberation of all enslaved Pokémon in major cities all of this world. We will show the Global Federation our strength and commitment and that we are not going to go away so easily! I will make my own personal response to the Prime Minister’s speech available on our website before then.”

The crowd cheered again and then Vivian posted her response, as May Benson, to the PLO website’s front page. After the crowd dispersed and Mr. Stevens said that he would make the plans for the first “Worldwide Anti-Slavery March” official soon. Nina then hugged Vivian again and the two young women set off to head home for the night. As they were leaving the office, Jeb told Vivian, “As should be obvious, you are hired for a permanent position if you want it.”

Vivian gave Jeb a thumbs up, indicating her acceptance. Then, she and Nina walked off into the night together.


	7. The March

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers, I just wanted to report that my first story on this website has reached 450 hits! Anyway, thank you all for reading, again. Also, the formatting issues are still persisting. Sorry about that.

            Over the next almost two months, Vivian continued to work for the PLO using the fake identity of May Benson. She also continued to deceive her lover, Officer Nathan Ford, by telling him she was still doing odd jobs in the vicinity of her apartment complex. Nathan did not seem to mention May Benson to Vivian on their dates, even though he did mention PM Rodriguez’s speech with admiration. He seemed pleased that the political leader of the Global Federation was on the side of the Federation of Pokémon Leagues. Vivian refrained from expressing her real belief that the use of Pokémon by humans really was evil to him. However, even though she was not falling out of love with him, Vivian was starting to see more and more that Nathan was not taking the feelings of the Pokémon into account. She began to resented that about him. On the upside, she knew that he had taken a job as a police officer out of a sense that it was a good way to help society. He had told her before that he would have tried to become a Pokémon Trainer himself if he had not felt that that profession mainly entertained people, rather than being more socially useful.

            One day, Vivian was off of work and was eating lunch with Nathan at a café they frequented. He was in uniform and on break, they had earlier agreed to eat together that day. Vivian, knowing that the PLO march would take place in a week asked Nathan, “So, I assume that you know the PLO will be marching through Megapolis a week from today, right?”

            Nathan nodded, as he finished chewing a bite of his sandwich, he then responded, “I assume that Nina will be among those rabble-rousers.” He smiled at the end of his statement.

            Vivian then asked, “Will you be stationed along the route, I assume they will want a lot of cops in the area for an event of that size.”

            Nathan nodded no and then told Vivian, “Actually, I will be on patrol that day. Someone will need to make sure criminals do not take advantage of the population’s distraction. I don’t want to see those people march anyway. I asked to be away from them and my superiors at the station were nice enough to oblige me. They actually told me a rumor that the government was going to deny the marchers the necessary permits, but they were afraid of the message that would send.”

            Vivian nodded and then said, “Nina will be among the marchers, I will probably be in the crowd, for her sake. To be fair, though, many in the crowd will be pro-training. I am glad, knowing you, that you will not be on the scene, darling.”

            Nathan laughed and then told Vivian, “I love you, I really do. As much as I dislike Nina, you are a loyal friend to her. I cannot deny your devotion to the people close to you, myself included…”

            Vivian just nodded and said “Yeah.” She felt immense guilt build up inside her for lying to Nathan, but she said nothing.

            Nathan paid for their lunches, once they were done. Then, Vivian kissed her boyfriend and headed back home. She wondered if she should finally admit the truth to him, after the march was over.

            Vivian spent most of the next five days writing and posting promotional pieces for the upcoming march and with Nina. Her assignment for the march itself was to be in the crowd taking pictures without any wearing anything that would identify her as a PLO employee, while wearing a tight baseball cap to help disguise her real identity. She was to write pieces about the marches on the following days.

The day before the march, her mother asked to meet with her in the living room of their apartment. Vivian asked Pamela, “Mom, what do you need? I have got to get ready for the march tomorrow.”

            Pamela nodded and then told her daughter, “Vivian, I first want you to know that I am quite proud of you. You have both finally gotten a job and you have found a cause that you seem to really believe in. However, I think you should tell Nathan the truth within a few days of the march. It would be better for him to learn what you have been doing from you than for him to learn the truth via an accident.”

            Vivian nodded solemnly and then smiled and embraced her mother. As they were hugging, Vivian told Pamela, “I will try to tell him the truth within the first few days after the marches. I love you, mom. I will do my best to stay safe at the march tomorrow.”

            Pamela nodded and then gripped Vivian tighter for a moment. She then let go of her daughter and smiled at her one more time.

            The next day, Vivian and Nina headed to the wide main street that the PLO march was set to travel down. The march was going to end at the Global Parliament building, where the PLO would demonstrate their commitment to their cause to any politicians watching the event in person.

            Vivian was to stand in the growing crowd at around the half-way point of the march’s route. She readied her portable camera and adjusted her cap to more-effectively cover her face. Before she had left to take her position, she had hugged Nina and wished her good luck. Nina was to be marching near Mr. Stevens customized vehicle, which would have him inside an armored, mostly glass, shield on top of a small truck. Microphones attached to the protected compartment would allow Mr. Stevens voice to be amplified so that the crowd would hear it, even above the booing and cheering the PLO had been expecting.

            Vivian waited for quite some time, doing her best to stand by herself, away from the main crowds as she watched for the marchers’ approach. She already saw that many of the people in the crowd seemed restless and occasionally boisterous. She could vaguely overhear a number of arguments between individuals and groups of people in the crowd about the PLO, Pokémon Training and related topics. While a number of people in the crowd were wearing anti-Pokémon Training shirts or buttons and, sometimes, carrying pro-PLO signs, there were many others who were wearing shirts with the emblems of various Pokémon leagues on them, as well as carrying anti-PLO signs.

            As she continued to wait for the marchers’ arrival, Vivian thought to herself that it would be nice if the PLO members had actual Pokémon marching with them. However, those Pokémon would probably have to be controlled in a way that would be counter to the organization’s principles.

            The crowd began to become louder as Vivian could just barely spot the marchers approaching. As they neared, a number of people wearing light-blue shirts and carrying pro-PLO signs formed a vanguard. A number of cars, vans and small trucks with PLO banners and signs attached to them came in second. A second, larger, wave of marchers followed the convoy of vehicles. At the rear of the march was Rudolph Steven’s truck, which was surrounded by marchers and a number of security guards. Vivian noticed that the guards were all wearing matching body armor over their uniforms. They appeared to be ready for anything.

            As the marchers passed Vivian’s position, she began to take pictures. Around that time, the crowds began to cheer and boo the marchers. Various slogans and cries of support came from the pro-PLO observers. A few members of the crowd remained silent, possibly trying to judge which side, if either, to support. The pro-training portion of the crowd was shouting all sorts of curses and proclamations of strong disagreement at the marchers.

            Vivian did her best to keep her distance from the pro-training crowds as she saw Mr. Stevens truck near her position. He was making proclamations in favor of Pokémon freedom, and seemed to be doing an excellent job of ignoring the members of the crowd yelling at him and his followers. Vivian stepped into position to take pictures of the Stevens truck and found her back facing a side-street that fed into the main road. She continued to snap photos as the Stevens truck was nearly parallel to her. Then, she saw a pickup truck approaching from the opposite side street. It was painted black and coming in fast. Vivian then heard two loud “HONK” noises and quickly looked behind her and dived out of the way of a second pickup truck that had been coming in from behind her. As civilians scrambled out of the way, the trucks crashed through the barricades and the PLO marchers dove for safety as the two trucks almost ran many of them over.

            The trucks then disgorged four people wearing all-black clothes. They were all armed with either sledgehammers, baseball bats, or other improvised melee weapons.

            As the PLO marchers ran away from the advancing men and women, Stevens’ security guards quickly opened up a series of compartments on the side of the Stevens truck. All four of them withdrew assault rifles and pointed them at the advancing attackers.

When Vivian got back up and started backing away from the scene, she heard police sirens and saw two police cars approaching from the north in the distance. She heard the black clad people shouting, “Wreck the truck, kill that man Stevens! Cut off the head and the beast will die!”

Vivian then became cognizant that the PLO guards were retrieving assault rifles, she thought, “They have military-grade firearms? What about the federation’s strict weapons-control laws?”

The security guards took aim at their assailants as the police cars continued to get closer. They shouted, in unison, “Halt! Surrender and…”

     The eight attackers charged at the guards, probably hoping to close the gap short before their enemies could fire. However, they miscalculated badly. The PLO security guards aimed and fired, Vivian saw the attackers fall one by one in rapid succession. When only three of the attackers were left, one of them attacked a guard with his baseball bat, only to receive a quick stab to the gut from the guard’s combat knife. The last two attackers took advantage of the PLO guards reloading their weapons and got back into their trucks.

As the police were arriving on the scene, one of the trucks rammed the side of the Stevens truck while the other tried to plow over a number of PLO marchers, who had been watching the fight unfold from nearby. What looked like five total police officers got out of their cars and one of them used his semi-automatic pistol to shoot the driver who had rammed the Stevens Truck in the head. The other truck took a series of assault rifle bursts from the guards, who had reloaded and its rear tires were severely damaged. A series of shots from the police officers blasted in through the back window and the driver’s body went limp.

Vivian breathed a sigh of relief as all eight attackers were dealt with. Then, to her horror, the factions in the crowd started to blame each other for what had just happened. The police holstered their pistols and then tried to get the crowd to disperse, but it seemed like a riot was brewing at a breakneck pace.

Vivian then saw the four PLO guards pile onto the Stevens Truck, which was still operational. The truck’s driver disengaged from the truck that had just rammed his vehicle and then Rudolph Stevens shouted some orders. He seemed to be injured from the impact of the ramming, but not to a severe extent. The Stevens Truck went in to full reverse and drove past the two parked police cars and then went into drive. Then, the truck retreated from the scene.

Vivian did not know what to think as the police were trying and failing to force the crowd to disperse. The situation rapidly escalated into a violent riot all along the road as more officers arrived to try and collect the bodies and weapons of the people who had attacked the Stevens Truck. A number of police officers in riot gear were also approaching the scene. As the rioting and fighting got close to where Vivian was standing, she could only think to run as the remaining PLO marchers in the area joined the fray and the PLO vehicles seemed to be either retreating or trying to run over pro-training rioters.

Vivian managed to evade the small number of police reinforcements coming from the side street she had run down. Since she was fleeing the scene, they were not particularly interested in her. Then, her phone rang. The phone’s caller ID said that it was her mother. Vivian ran another half-block and then answered the call. Her mother’s voice called out, “Vivian, are you ok? I am watching breaking news. There was an attempt of Rudolph Stevens’ life at the march and violence is breaking out all along the path.”

Vivian replied, “I am physically ok, mom. I managed to escape the attack, but I was very close. The PLO guards had their own assault rifles! I do not know what has happened to Nina, or if Nathan is going to be involved in the police response.”

            Pamela then told Vivian, “Tell me where you are and I will get the car and pick you up, find the safest place you can! Violence is breaking out at PLO marches all around the world! Most of it seems to be unrelated to the assassination attempt on Rudolph Stevens.”

            Vivian soon managed to find a familiar street corner and then told her mother that she would be waiting there for her.

            As Vivian tried to mentally digest all that had just happened, she tried to call Nina, but she could get no response. She then received a text from Nathan saying, “Are you ok, Vivian. The main road of the city is erupting in violence and we cannot control it! If you are ok, then get home and be safe. I will see you again when I have time and this situation hopefully calms.”

            As Vivian was still worried about Nina, she texted back, “I managed to escape the crowd. I was very close to the incident that sparked the riots! My mother is going to take me home very soon. Thanks for your concern. I love you.”

            Vivian waited for Nathan’s response until she saw her mother’s car rapidly approaching. Then, he texted back, “I am so relieved that you are alright now. It seems like Stevens and his guards have disappeared in the chaos. We might even have to call in the local Federation army garrison! That has apparently already happened in three cases today! I love you, Vivian. Wish me luck helping with the mass arrests that are about to happen. See you on the other side of this mess.”

            Vivian was just relieved that one person she cared about, other than her mother, was alright. Then, her mother’s car arrived and she got in. Pamela smiled at Vivian and told her, “I am just happy to see you alive and unharmed. Now, let’s get home before they start setting up checkpoints to catch fleeing rioters.”

            Vivian nodded and then told her mother, “Nathan is with the other police officers. He has texted me a bit about what is going on. Nina, on the other hand, is unreachable.”

            Pamela nodded and then told Vivian, as she began to drive the car back towards their apartment building, “It might be wise for you to reconsider continuing to work for the PLO. I did not know that their movement would lead to such violence descending upon us.”

            Vivian folded her arms and said nothing. Her mother shrugged her shoulders and then continued driving the car. They managed to make it back to their apartment building, where Vivian and Pamela spent the evening watching the news in horror at the violence that had rocked global society that day.


	8. The Secret Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least for the time being, the formatting seems to be fixed. Thanks for reading, as usual.

            ---

            It was around 9:30 PM on the evening of the PLO marches, and the worldwide rioting they had inadvertently caused, when Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez of the Global Federation had convened a number of key figures in a high-security conference room in the Global Parliament Building. A pair of heavily armored and armed federation assault troopers, one man and one woman guarded the double door to the green-painted room.

            Seven people sat around the room’s conference table and watched as PM Rodriguez paced in front of them. Among them were: three highly regarded members of the Global Parliament, two women and one man, the man who was the current Megapolis City Chief of Police, a female General of the Global Federation’s army, a male lobbyist who worked for a number of industries that used Pokémon as laborers and the man who was the head lobbyist for the Federation of Pokémon Leagues.

            PM Rodriguez sighed deeply, he looked exasperated as he addressed the assembled officials, “Ladies and gentlemen, the events of today have left me no choice but to take drastic action. As we speak, the Global Parliament is gathering in its chamber for an emergency session. Some members will have to call in via video conference. Now, I intend to ask our parliament to grant me the power to declare a worldwide state of emergency. I want to hear all of your thoughts on that possibility and what you all think I should do with the authority that they will grant me, assuming that the measure is passed.”

            PM Rodriguez then asked the three members of the parliament to speak first, one of the women members of parliament present said, “Mr. Prime Minister, after all that we saw today, I can tell you that this PLO group needs to be dealt with. Without the presence of the PLO, none of today’s violence would have occurred. We now know that it many locations the PLO’s members were the ones who sparked the mass riots. We need to put a stop to this extremist group as soon as possible. My allies in the parliament and I will support any attempt you make to call for a state of emergency. I would also advise you to declare the state of emergency against the PLO and mobilize all of our police and military forces to shut them down!”

            PM Rodriguez nodded and then turned to the male member of parliament, who said, “Sir, I believe that you should declare a state of emergency. However, you should not focus the efforts exclusively on the PLO. I would advise that you send out our forces to arrest everyone involved in the rioting and prosecute ALL of them. We need to find out who was behind the assassination attempt on the PLO’s leader and bring them to justice if at all possible. We need to focus on stopping the violence, not persecuting any one group. Still, I will support your call for a state of emergency, should you choose to issue it. Just be careful what you do with that power.”

            PM Rodriguez nodded again and then turned to the final present member of parliament. She looked over at her fellow legislators and then stood up, pointing at the other woman legislator in the room. She then said, “Mr. Prime Minister, I must admit that I am shocked at what one of my fellow members of parliament has suggested. We need remember why the PLO was formed! We need to think about what we are doing to our fellow living beings. The PLO’s leadership did not, as far as we know, ask for the disaster that happened today. I second that we must find out who tried to assassinate Rudolph Stevens. However, if you try to declare a state of emergency with the intent to use that power against the PLO, then my caucus will vote against your request.”

            The next person to speak, after the last member of parliament had sat down and received a glare from her woman colleague, was the chief of the Megapolis Police. He told the Prime Minister, “Sir, today my officers were extremely strained by mass violence, as were their colleagues all around the world. I believe that we need to investigate all of the sources of this outbreak of violence, including the dramatic assassination attempt that was made in this city today. I also think we need to locate where Rudolph Stevens is now and try to talk to him. In the end, if you declare a state of emergency, then I would advise using it to make it easier to apprehend all criminals involved in the rioting. The PLO should not be the only target of our efforts.”

            The general present then was allowed to speak, she said, “We have received reports that after word of the attempt on Rudolph Stevens’ life circled the globe and made it to a number of PLO members, there was a spree of retaliatory attacks on FPL offices, Pokémon Gyms and even bars and restaurants that frequently showed Pokémon battles on their televisions. Rudolph Stevens himself has disappeared from our view. I do not think that the PLO planned all of this, but I think that that movement is too dangerous to keep around. The opinion of our armed forces, as I have been assigned to deliver to you, is that we need a crackdown on the PLO. They started a number of the march riots and their presence will continue to create tension. We should focus on arresting their leadership and their key employees. We should try to end this conflict before it escalates too far.”

            The penultimate person in the room to speak was the lobbyist for a number of Pokémon-using industries, he said, “Sir, my clients can only say that without their Pokémon laborers, their profits would drop massively. For the sake of the federation’s economy, we should not allow the PLO to achieve their goal. That is all I have to say on this matter.”

            PM Rodriguez than declared, “Thank you for your opinions, ladies and gentlemen. Now, I need everyone who has spoken to leave the room. I need to converse privately with the representative of the Federation of Pokémon Leagues.”

            Everyone else left the room, except for the guards. The woman legislator who had spoken in favor of the PLO glared at those who had supported shutting it down as they all filed out.

            The representative of the FPL calmly waited for Prime Minister Rodriguez to speak. When he did, he said, “Alright, first of all, you should know that my current plan is to have all rioters we can find arrested for sure. I am also strongly considering shutting down the PLO, seeing as though their growing movement’s presence creates the possibility for future violence. People died today from the mass violence. Even though we lost no law officers here in Megapolis, the police killed some of the rioters in self-defense. And of course, many of the rioters killed other rioters.”

            The FPL lobbyist responded, “Sir, where are you going with this?”

            PM Rodriguez looked the FPL representative in the eyes and said, “What I need to know is whether or not the FPL was complicit in the attack on Stevens. If it was done on their orders, I would have no choice but to shut the FPL down as well. That would be even more unpopular than shutting down the PLO, but justice would be served. Of course, a new sporting association could always be chartered to replace it. Now, you WILL tell me if the FPL was involved in the attack!”

            The lobbyist looked PM Rodriguez in the eyes and responded, “I would probably not be privy to that information if the FPL’s council had voted to try and kill their biggest political foe. However, I consider it unlikely that they would have ordered that attack. They would have realized that if a single member of the attack force was captured alive, they could be forced to confess the FPL’s involvement. That would lead to a massive propaganda coup for the PLO and possibly, as you said, the government-led closing of the FPL. Also, the FPL might be in the business of contributing immense amounts to political campaigns, as I would know, but it is not in the business of getting anyone killed! I do not know who really tried to take Stevens out of the picture, but dead people tell no tales. Now, speaking of the state of emergency, I have an official offer for you, sir.”

            PM Rodriguez raised an eyebrow as the FPL lobbying chief withdrew a packet of papers and read, “The Federation of Pokémon Leagues has authorized me, by a vote of their council, to inform you in private that they will provide whatever support they can reasonably give to any effort that your administration makes toward defeating the PLO by legal means. The FPL can contribute money and advertisements toward any effort deemed necessary to bringing an end to the PLO, if you deem that to be the necessary course of action. Remember that the PLO began this, they always had a choice in this matter.”

            PM Rodriguez stroked his moustache and then responded, “I will declare the state of emergency against the PLO. However, the FPL needs to follow through with their commitment if the conflict escalates. Also, if it turns out that the FPL had ordered the attack on Rudolph Stevens, I will take advantage of the state of emergency to shut them down. Am I clear?”

            The lobbyist smiled and then said, “You are crystal clear, Mr. Prime Minister. If you permit me, I will go and inform the FPL council of your plans.”

            PM Rodriguez nodded and his guards let the lobbyist leave. Then, he walked over to a small bottle and poured himself a drink. Geraldo Rodriguez thought to himself as he left the room with his small glass and his two loyal guards in tow, “I just hope to Arceus that this conflict does not escalate. With any luck, we can bring down the PLO quickly and cleanly.”

            The Prime Minister then headed home for the night, he knew that early the next morning, he had something big to ask of the Global Parliament.


	9. The Arrest

            ---

            The day after the PLO marches and the riots that had ensued along with them, Vivian and her mother were in their apartment’s living room. It was around 10:00 in the morning. Vivian was still panicked over the fact that she could not reach Nina. Nathan had texted her that he had survived the night and was on standby to assist with any other arrests that might need to be made in the near future. Pamela told Vivian, “Honey, I think that it would be best, regardless of what has become of Nina, that you cease working for the PLO. I heard on this morning’s news that there were retaliation attacks made by PLO members all around the world after the attempt to kill Rudolph Stevens was made. The Prime Minister even called a special emergency session of parliament, which will convene soon, if they have not done so already.”

            Vivian sighed deeply and then replied, “To be fair, I had no idea that all of this would happen. Now, my top priority is finding out what has become of Nina. Then, I might tell Nathan the truth.”

            Pamela started to look somewhat angry with her daughter. She then added, “You need to tell Nathan the truth. Also, you should leave the PLO, I would not even bother resigning formally. It is too dangerous for you to keep associating with them, Vivian!”

            Vivian then lost some of her self-control and shot back, “Mom…I care about the cause, ok? I have learned, from my work with the PLO, that the world’s Pokémon deserve freedom! Now, I just hope that Nina is alright and that Mr. Stevens comes forward and denounces all of the recent violence.”

            Pamela sighed and then replied, “Vivian, I really do hope that Nina survived what happened yesterday and is somewhere safe, but I don’t know if your Mr. Stevens is going to denounce all of the violence. He is probably hiding somewhere after yesterday’s failures and trying to find the best way to piece his movement back together. I do not think that you should be part of that movement again. I do not want to have you in a situation where you could be a target of an attack. After yesterday, I do not believe that working for the PLO is safe. I am almost sorry that I pushed you so hard to find a job… if I had known what would happen…”

            Vivian sighed and then said, “Unless further developments force me to reconsider, I will not leave the PLO yet. Now, let’s turn on the news and see what has come of the recent calamity.”

            Pamela nodded, she was not happy with Vivian’s decision, but she hoped that seeing the news might provide her daughter with the impetus she would need to leave the PLO.

            When Pamela turned the TV, it was still on the GFN, Global Federation News, channel. A reddish-blond haired female reporter was standing in front of the Global Parliament Building and saying, “Cleanup and mass arrest efforts are still underway after riots occurred in over two dozen major world cities yesterday. Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez has called the federation’s parliament in for an emergency session. We do not know what is going on inside of the parliament’s chamber now, but the last rumor that leaked out stated that the Prime Minister has asked for the parliament to vote on whether or not to instate a state of emergency worldwide.”

            A male anchor in the local GFN newsroom then took over and said, “We have also heard that a full-scale investigation is underway over the brazen attack launched yesterday, in the streets of Megapolis, against the life of the PLO’s chairman, Rudolph Stevens.”

            At that point, the female reporter took over the screen and then said, “We have just received a report that Prime Minister Rodriguez has a major announcement for us. Apparently, he has requested that all available news organizations cover the speech that he is about to give in front of the Global Parliament Building. We will transition over to his podium in just a moment…”

            Vivian folded her arms and then said, “This should be interesting! I never liked the Prime Minister since I read his pro-slavery speech.”

            Pamela sighed and replied, “From what I know of him, he is mainly interested in keeping the peace in these troubled times. The Global Federation has stood for over fifty-five years and never had to deal with a conflict like this before.”

            When the news channel transitioned over to Prime Minister Rodriguez’s podium, he had a very serious look on his face. He was accompanied by a number of members of the global parliament and four heavily armed federation soldiers. He began, “My fellow citizens, I address you all to inform you that I have asked our parliament to vote in favor of declaring the first state of emergency our society has ever been under. I now report to you, the people, that the parliament voted approximately 60% in favor of declaring the state of emergency. The state of emergency has been approved to last for two months, this is not an option that my government takes lightly.”

            Vivian and Pamela looked nervously at each other and then back at the television. PM Rodriguez then continued, “This state of emergency has given me the power to not only make sure that all who violently rioted yesterday can be arrested, but to address the root cause of the violence. Effective immediately, the Pokémon Liberation Organization is banned from operating within the boundaries of the Global Federation. Warrants for the arrest and questioning of all high-ranking members of the PLO have been issued. I want to assure those who held comparatively unimportant positions in the PLO that they will not be subject to arrest automatically. However, all PLO websites will be taken down and no protests or rallies in that organization’s name will be legally allowed from here on out. We need to come together now, as a world and as a society, to heal the wounds caused by the PLO and those who reacted strongly to their activities. It is advised that all members of the PLO, and others, who have warrants issued for their arrest turn themselves in so that they may be treated more leniently.”

            Vivian turned off the TV and then said, “Ok, I guess that I cannot work for the PLO anymore. I… did not trust Rodriguez before, but the idea that he would ban the PLO is insane to me. He could have just doomed countless Pokémon to spend their lives as slaves for the rest of human history. It has to have been the FPL, they must have convinced him to do this!”

            Pamela looked awkwardly over at her daughter and then told her, “You should focus on finding a way to locate Nina now. Maybe she was arrested as a rioter? Now that the PLO is out of the way, you should tell Nathan the truth and hope that he can forgive you for lying to him.”

            Vivian listened to what her mother said about Nina and then continued, “I still cannot believe this! Will they ban all speech in favor of outlawing Pokémon Training now? Mom, you fail to realize how bad this really is! …I will see if I can contact Nathan about finding Nina and then tell him the truth after some brunch. Can we have some food?”

            Pamela nodded yes and then said, “We will eat here, I still feel nervous about going out into the city after the violence that occurred yesterday.”

            Vivian and Pamela ate their meals and then Vivian spent some time thinking about what she was going to tell Nathan. As she was contemplating how to tell him the truth, the doorbell rang.

            Vivian walked up to the apartment door and opened it. She saw two police officers, one man and one woman standing at the door. She did not recognize either of them.

            Vivian called out, nervously, “Mom, the police are here.” She then heard her mother’s footsteps rapidly approaching.

            The male officer asked Vivian, “Are you Vivian Prince?”

            Vivian answered, “Yes…are you here to question me about the attack on the march yesterday? I was in the crowd and was almost hit by one of those trucks…”

            The female officer then replied, “We are not here about that…we are here for you. Your computer’s IP address has been connected with a PLO employee named ‘May Benson,’ who apparently is not a real person. We know that you were behind the May Benson postings. You are under arrest.”

            As Pamela’s footsteps got closer, Vivian considered running, but both officers had their pistols at their belts. Vivian was panicked, even though she tried not to show it. She then asked, “Ok, it was me who posted on the PLO website as May Benson. How was that illegal?”

            The male officer responded, “You were a paid employee of the PLO who was responsible for a large portion of their recent internet content. You will be entitled to a fair trial and will probably not be at risk of nearly as serious a sentence as the upper ranks of the PLO.”

            Vivian then saw Pamela entering, Pamela asked, “What do you two want with my daughter?”

            The female officer replied, “She is under arrest, she needs to come with us now.”

            The male officer pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and Pamela shouted, “I do not know what you think Vivian did! But she did not break any laws! This is a mockery of justice! I WILL call my member of parliament and…”

            Vivian then told her mother, “Call, see if it helps, I think that democracy has stopped working for those who support the liberation of Pokémon.”

            Vivian then held out her hands and the male officer said, “We cannot risk anything, turn around and put your arms behind your back.”

            As Pamela seemed on the verge of tears, Vivian turned around and was handcuffed behind her back. The female officer then said, “Let’s go. We have our car waiting at the entrance to the building.”

            The two officers shut the door right after Vivian looked her mother in the eyes and said, “Goodbye mom.”

            Vivian was escorted into a nearby elevator and then taken to the ground floor of the building. She was then marched to the waiting police car. The male officer got into the driver’s seat while the female officer put Vivian in one of the back seats. The female officer took the other passenger’s seat in the front of the car. Then, the police car began the drive to the nearest police station.

About five minutes into the drive Vivian asked her captors, “Excuse me, does either one of you recall a young woman named Nina Hale being arrested recently? She is around my height and has short dark hair and comes from around here, unlike me.”

The male officer kept driving while his partner turned around and told Vivian, “I do not know of anyone who goes by that name. Also, I did not see anyone being taken in recently with that description. If she was arrested, she may have been taken to another police station somewhere in this city.”

            Vivian replied, “Thank you, anyways.”

            Vivian was quiet the remaining five-ish minutes of the drive to the nearby police station. Vivian realized that this was where she had picked up Nathan from work for lunches and other dates multiple times over the last couple of months.

            The car parked in a spot in front of the station and then Vivian was escorted to an interrogation room. She was told that she had been assigned a prison cell to wait for her trial in, which she would be taken to after her initial interrogation.

            Vivian was sitting, with her hands cuffed in front of her back now, and waiting for the interrogating officer to enter the room. It was not long until Nathan Ford stepped into the room. Vivian’s heart leapt into her throat, she had no idea what he was going to say to her.

            Nathan put his hands on the table across from Vivian and began, sounding mysteriously calm, “Yesterday, I did my job, Vivian. And in that line of duty I helped arrest over ten violent rioters in the course of less than two hours alone. I helped to arrest both pro and anti-training rioters. And then, when I come in to see what more I can do after getting what rest I could. My friends on the force tell me that you were scheduled to be arrested. I asked them why, horrified that there was a warrant for your arrest. They told me that you were ‘May Benson.’ That you were a key contributor to the, now finally banned, PLO’s website recently. …After all that I said about the PLO and after all of the love that we shared, you not only went and joined the bastards, you hid it from me! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?”

            Vivian had never seen tears in Nathan’s eyes before, but they were there. She started to cry herself and then said, “I am sorry, so sorry that I lied to you. I was so scared of what you would think. I just got involved with the cause… and I do not regret that part by itself. Whatever the Prime Minister does is not going to change the suffering of so many Pokémon! Nathan, I don’t know if you will ever forgive me… but please help me find out what happened to Nina. I do not know what was become of her.”

            Nathan started daggers into Vivian and then told her, “Nina? As far as I am concerned, she corrupted you! If I see her again, I will either punch her in the face, hard, or kill her outright if I can get away with it!”

            Vivian looked horrified and then shouted back, “You are very angry, and you have a right to be. However, please do not forget all that we shared before. And do not blame my decision to work for the PLO entirely on Nina!”

            Nathan then changed the subject, saying, “Vivian, let me say this… Tell them what they want to know. Tell them the truth. You might be able to get a short sentence or avoid prison time all together…. You should know that I had actually decided, as I was in the midst of the chaos of yesterday’s violence, that if I made it out, I would ask you to marry me. Now, I may never completely cease to love you, but I cannot forgive you for your lies. Vivian… our relationship is dead. We are no longer a couple. You have broken my heart. If you end up in prison, then good luck there.”

            Vivian and Nathan now both had tears running down their faces, Vivian then tried to stop crying and told Nathan, “This is it then, I guess that our love was not strong enough. Goodbye, Officer Ford.”

            Nathan glared at Vivian and then finished, “Just remember, I loved you. And I would have loved you regardless of your opinions on Pokémon Training. The actions you took broke us apart. And, I still hate Nina, even if she was not related to your bad choices and your dishonestly.”

            Vivian had nothing left to say to her now ex-lover. Nathan then threw up his hands and left the interrogation room.

            Vivian’s real interrogation was postponed indefinitely thanks to a lack of police resources currently available. She was escorted to her cell and un-cuffed later that day.

            After spending a few hours alone in her cell, Vivian fell asleep in her cell’s bed, not sure what the future had in store for her.


	10. A Surprising Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It looks like the formatting issues are back for now. Regardless, at least this story is now over one half of the way to being fully posted. Thank you all for reading.

            Vivian spent the next morning in her cell at the police station. She did her best to eavesdrop on the police officers patrolling the cell block and heard a few things from them. For one, Vivian became aware that there were other prisoners in the cell block, she was not the only PLO member being held in the station.

Secondly, she learned that various PLO members were actively and violently resisting the attempts to shut down their organization. Apparently, guerrilla activity was becoming a growing concern for the Global Federation as more and more anti-slavery forces were mobilizing.

Thirdly, Vivian learned that Rudolph Stevens was currently the subject of a large-scale manhunt, but that he had not yet been located by the federation forces searching for him.

Lastly, Vivian learned that no real progress had been made in trying to discover who had attacked the Stevens’ truck two days earlier.

It was just after Vivian had eaten lunch in her cell, when a male officer she did not recognize came up to her cell door, unlocked it and stepped inside. He said, “I am here to take you to be interrogated. Come quietly and you will not be harmed.”

Vivian stood up, saying nothing and looking downwards. She held out her wrists without resistance. She was quickly and tightly handcuffed and then led out of her cell. It only took Vivian and her escort two minutes to reach another interrogation room. This one was smaller than the one in which she had spoken with Nathan the day before. Vivian was led to a chair in front of a small desk, where she sat down. A female officer wearing a Police Captain’s uniform walked into the room through the opposite door and told Vivian’s escort, “You may leave us.”

Vivian looked up and quickly saw that the Police Captain in front of her was also an Umbalan. She had her hair up in a tight bun, unlike Vivian’s wavy, shoulder-length style. Before Vivian could say anything, her interrogator began, “Hello miss Prince, my name is Captain Julia Griffin. As you might be able to tell, I was chosen to interrogate you because we are both immigrants from the same region. Also, I am the officer in charge of this police station. According to your file, your father is still living in Umbala, is that correct?”

Vivian, seeming surprised that she had a “file” already, replied, as she fidgeted her cuffed hands, “Yes ma’am, he was and is a guardsman sergeant for an Umbalan Count. He was too committed to Umbala to ever leave, so my mother divorced him and took me here when she wanted to move to this continent.”

Julia nodded and then added, “I was lucky enough to have both of my parents immigrate from Umbala to this continent when I was very young. Our homeland was too culturally traditional for their liking. They did not want me to join the police, but it was my goal and I surprised everyone at the academy. …Look, Vivian, I want to see if we can help each other out, you have never had a criminal record before and you were even the lover of a loyal officer under my command. I don’t think you should have to rot in prison for simply posting some of the PLO’s web content.”

Vivian gave Julia a suspicious look and then asked, “The PLO has been outlawed now, how do you expect me to legally escape jail time after I have already been arrested? It seems like the evidence to convict me in a trial is already in your department’s possession.”

Julia smiled at Vivian and then told her, “I have been authorized to make a deal with you. In exchange for your cooperation in telling us everything you know about the PLO and formally, and publically, disavowing them, you can be pardoned… and allowed to go home.”

Vivian tried to fold her arms and then asked Julia, “What happens if I refuse to go along with your deal?”

Julian replied, “You will be taken to trial. If the court approves, you will not only be sentenced to at least five years in prison. But, from what I have been told, thanks to the state of emergency, the authorities will extract whatever information you have on the PLO that you have not told us by whatever means they deem necessary.”

Vivian turned a bit pale and then stood up and asked, “Are you implying that they will use torture in order to make me tell them what I know?”

Julia sighed and then replied, “I know that it is unconstitutional under the Federation’s charter to have any government agency use torture. However, a provision of the declaration of the state of emergency states that captured PLO members may be tortured. As long as they might divulge helpful information with regard to the campaign to suppress the PLO, that is.”

Vivian glared at Julia and then stated, “This federation has become a failed democracy! If you are really willing to use torture and arrest people for working for an outlawed organization, then you are no longer acting in the public interest.”

Julia glared back at Vivian and then told her, “I am just doing my duty. I hate the thought of the police force I have been proud to be a member of being asked to torture anyone. However, the law is what it is. Will you accept our generous offer and your pardon?”

Vivian was both despondent and enraged as tears were about to start flowing out of her eyes, she told Julia, “I cannot. Honestly, I don’t think I know too much compromising material. What is more important is that I cannot publically disavow the PLO. I still believe that Pokémon deserve their freedom! If I have to be tried and tortured for my beliefs, then so be it.”

Julia then walked up to Vivian and took one of her arms, she then said, “I can’t help but admire your convictions. However, I think that you have made the wrong choice. I will return you to your cell and tell my colleagues to make sure your trial date is arranged. You will be our ‘guest’ here until the courts have cleared up enough to allow your trial to start. Also, you can have your one phone call on the way back to your cell.”

Vivian nodded and allowed Julia to lead her to where a phone was.

Having no one else to call, Vivian called her mother. When Pamela answered, Vivian told her everything that had happened since her arrest. That information included: her inability to locate Nina, her breakup with Nathan, and her being informed of her trial and the fact that she might be tortured.

Pamela told her daughter to be brave and that she would do whatever she could to help Vivian. Pamela had already sent in an inquiry to the offices of every local and federal representative she could. She also told Vivian that the state of unrest around the world was indeed growing and that Rudolph Stevens had been sending out messages encouraging anyone who would listen to resist the emergency measures that were being taken. Apparently multiple FPL offices, federation military outposts and even some pro-Rodriguez legislators had already been attacked, or threatened with attack, by PLO sympathizers.

When the phone call time was up, Pamela told Vivian that she would do whatever she could to help her again. Then, Vivian replied, “I love you mother. I am sorry about all of this, that I will not take their pardon offer. Just know that I am doing what I think is right.”

Pamela simply replied, “I know. I love you too.”

Vivian was then taken back to her cell.

Over the next two days, Vivian remained in her jail cell. The morning of the day after that, Captain Julia Griffin informed Vivian that she was to be sent to trial in five days. She was told that defense council would be provided for her and that a member of parliament had, in fact, offered to help represent her after hearing of her case. Vivian told Julia that she understood what she had been told and then remained sulking in her cell.

According to the clock on the wall, it was six PM in the evening, when Vivian heard what sounded like an explosion and then what sounded like a vehicle ramming through a wall. The entire building seemed to shake with the second noise. Within a minute of those noises Vivian heard gunfire coming from the other side of the nearby cell-block door. She then heard a couple of screams and saw a squad of seven police officers, some in SWAT gear, standing ready in front of the door.

            The door to the cellblock was then launched off of its hinges, it flew past the police officers and a smoke grenade detonated just inside the cell block. One police officer shouted, “Get ready! They are coming in…”

            Vivian pressed herself against the rear wall of her cell as bullets started streaming out, as the smoke cleared. She saw three unarmored officers go down in rapid succession as a series of armed figures wearing light-brown body armor, helmets and face-covering masks emerge from the smoke and advance on the officers. The man in the lead was carrying a two barreled, over-under, portable machine gun, he was followed by at least five other masked figures.

            The remaining police officers began to retreat as one of the masked figures was gunned down. The man with the machine gun mowed down a fleeing SWAT officer. A masked woman brought down two retreating unarmored officers with well-placed shots from a semi-automatic rifle.

            The gunner in the lead said, “We appear to be clear, let’s get the prisoners out of their cells! The APC is heading around to the front. We are to clear out this station before we leave, we want less enemies available to chase us as we retreat.”

            The woman who Vivian had just seen kill two fleeing police officers was able to unlock Vivian’s cell. Vivian did not know what to do or say, she simply raised her hands above her head as the female soldier approached her. As she heard the other cells being unlocked, Vivian noticed that the woman approaching her was wearing a backpack full of all kinds of supplies.

            Before Vivian could say anything, the female soldier lunged at her and embraced her. Vivian breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the voice of Nina Hale told her, “Vivian! Thank Arceus we found you! We are going to get all of you out of here. Just follow us and stay low.”

            The, still heavily surprised, Vivian followed Nina out of her cell and was told to pick up a gun, she nervously picked up a semi-automatic pistol from a slain officer. The leader of the squad then said, “Ok everyone, we are going out through the lobby. Let’s move out. We are evacuating this vicinity tonight!”

            All of the masked soldiers replied, “Yes Sergeant!”

            As Vivian followed Nina and the others, including the other newly rescued PLO members, through the station, stopping only occasionally as their vanguard encountered minor resistance, she asked Nina, “How did you become a trained soldier? I just saw you kill two cops!”

            Nina replied, “I was selected to be part of a secret PLO program soon after I started to work for them. Mr. Stevens has always known that the government might try to shut us down, he has been stockpiling weapons and other military hardware by whatever means possible in order to be ready. He has been proven right, I would think.”

            As the group neared the lobby, Vivian asked, “Where are we going then? Where is safe from the federation’s forces?”

            Nina replied, “Somewhere up north is all that I know. Plans for the liberation of the Pokémon to continue are already being made. This is the night when the PLO is going to clear everyone we can out of the Megapolis area.”

            Vivian then followed her rescuers into the lobby where a few other PLO soldiers were engaging the bulk of the police and SWAT officers in the building. The PLO sergeant with Vivian’s group shouted, “Get to cover!”

The unit sought cover wherever they could. Vivian ducked behind some filing cabinets. She then peeked out to see two of the previously present PLO soldiers get gunned down by Julia Griffin, who was fighting with two revolvers. Vivian then saw Julia duck behind an armored metal desk that had been overturned to act as cover.

The PLO sergeant used his machine gun to provide covering fire as his troops, and those they were escorting, moved up to engage their enemies. Nina peered her rifle over the barricades she had been using. She shouted to Vivian, “Cover me if you can. I am waiting for something!”

Vivian nodded, she then peered up over the filing cabinets. She saw a police officer trying to flank them and cried out to alert her allies. He then raised his pistol at her.

Vivian remembered, in that moment of adrenaline, how her father had taught her now to shoot as a young teenager. She aimed down the sights of her pistol and fired a spread of bullets.

The officer was shot in the knee and went down in pain. Then, he was finished off by shots fired by an alerted Nina, who then returned to her earlier watch.

Vivian was still breathing heavily as she reloaded her pistol. She then saw Captain Griffin standing up from her cover and preparing to fire Nina then fired a grenade from an attachment built into her carbine rifle. Julia took a direct hit and was blown back from the blast.

Vivian wondered if Julia was dead, since she had disappeared behind the desk again after being hit with the rifle-fired grenade. Then, headlights from two vehicles shown through the windows of the police station and streams of machine gun fire perforated the remaining police officers defending the lobby.

The PLO sergeant shouted, “Move to the APC’s, we are getting out of here before more officers can arrive!”

The PLO soldiers and civilians then made their way out of the lobby and into the two light-brown, four-wheeled, machine gun and light cannon equipped armored vehicles.

As she was stepping carefully through the lobby, Vivian saw that Julia Griffin had died from the grenade blast. She sighed, knowing that the police captain had tried to spare her from torture and trial, as she followed Nina and the PLO sergeant, who Nina introduced as Harold Burton, to one of the two waiting Armored Personnel Carriers.


	11. Escape from Megapolis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Formatting issues persist. However, I will keep posting, of course. Thanks for reading, again.

            Vivian, two other freed PLO members, Nina, PLO Sergeant Harold Burton and three other PLO soldiers had just entered the, somewhat-cramped, internal compartment of one of the two armored personnel carriers that had been used in the attack on the southern Megapolis police station, where Vivian had recently been being held prisoner. Vivian saw there was a gunner manning the turret above them and assumed that the vehicles each had at least one driver.

            Vivian then, as she tried to mentally process all that had happened in the last half-hour felt the APC begin to move. Harold, Nina and the other soldiers removed their masks and Vivian saw that Harold was a man of Umbalan descent himself. He then shouted, “Driver, get in radio contact with the second APC and tell them to follow us to the north Megapolis airport. Chairman Stevens has our evacuation planes from our friends to the north all ready for us there. We need to arrive before the enemy overruns the area we have secured around the airport.”

            The APC driver responded, “Yes Sir!” Then, the APCs began to speed up as they advanced through the streets of Megapolis. Vivian could hear the honking and swerving of cars as they tried to avoid the escaping APCs.

            Harold then said to his fellow passengers, “We should be more than a match for any normal police cars in these vehicles. Any SWAT vehicles we see will be dispatched using our light cannons.”

            Vivian then asked Harold, “Sir, will we have to abandon these APC’s at the airport? How will you transport them to the north, wherever that is?”

            Harold grinned and then responded, “There are four large transports waiting for us at the airport. Two will carry our six total APC’s north, while the other two will carry our personnel. Chairman Stevens has our evacuation all figured out.”

            Vivian nodded as she felt the APC speeding up. She opened a small slit near her to see that the vehicles were now rushing north along a highway within the city of Megapolis. Then, they heard police sirens and Vivian felt a bump as the APC drove right over a standard police car that had tried to stop them.

            As the two APCs advanced north through the city, Vivian realized that she was now a fugitive. Part of a movement that was in a de-facto state of rebellion against the Global Federation. She knew that she was in a situation from which there would be no turning back. She thought, “As long as this leads to a future where Pokémon can be free, it will be worth it.”

            As the two APCs rapidly progressed north along the highway, the gunners blasted a number of chasing police cars with their machine guns. Vivian even heard the light cannons being fired, presumably to destroy the occasional armored police vehicle that would have joined the pursuit.

            After what felt like around twenty minutes or more, the driver of the APC shouted, “We are intercepting their radio signals. They are calling off their police from chasing our APCs. They seem to have realized that they are not prepared for our level of firepower. The other four of our vehicles are approaching the airport, we should be the last group to reach it. …Based on the enemy’s radio communications, we think they are scrambling police helicopters!”

            Harold shouted back, our saboteurs were only supposed to target military aircraft on the ground in the area to prevent them from launching to chase down our transport planes. We don’t have a plan to deal with those helicopters… or do we?”

            Harold opened up a small rectangular crate and pulled out a rocket launcher with some kind of high-tech sight. He then said, “Thank Arceus for clandestine heavy weapons purchases.”

            Nina laughed and then told Harold, “Ready to supply further ammo sir.”

            Vivian watched as Harold opened up a hatch right in front of the APC’s gun turret and took position with his rocket launcher.

            It was not long until they all heard the whir of rotors and pair of police helicopters armed with machine guns approached the advancing APC’s via the air. Vivian noticed that civilian vehicles had been cleared from the highway for their own safety as the two helicopters opened fire.

            Vivian was impressed with Harold’s bravery as he waited for his launcher to lock on as bullets bounced off the APC’s heavy top armor, barely missing him. The APCs’ gunners aimed their machine guns as far up as they could go and tried to make it hard for the helicopters to stay in stable aiming positions for long.

            Harold then shouted, “I’m locked on!” He then fired a heat-seeking missile at the closer police helicopter. The missile collided with the helicopter and it went spinning out of control and crashed into the highway behind the fleeing APCs in a large fireball.

            Harold then climbed back into the APC and shouted, “Hale, get me another rocket!”

            Nina nodded and produced a second light heat-seeking missile from her ammunition pack. She then handed it to Harold who loaded it into his launcher.

            When Harold was back in the hatch, he shouted, “The second helicopter is closing in! Its co-pilot has his own missile launcher!”

            Vivian felt scared as Nina shouted, “Lock on quickly! Before he can lock on to one of our vehicles!”

As the two APC’s turrets were blasting away at the remaining police helicopter, Harold shouted, “The co-pilot is about the fire at us! I will have to dumb-fire my launcher!”

Vivian watched as Harold fired his launcher at the enemy helicopter. The hostile chopper maneuvered its way out of the rocket’s path, preventing its own co-pilot from being able to finish his lock on to the PLO APC.

The two APC’s turrets were then able to focus their fire carefully enough to blast the second helicopter out of the sky. It also crashed and exploded on the highway.

Nina smiled at Harold as he climbed down into the compartment and then put down his launcher. Nina then joked, “We certainly left them some messes to clean up!”

Harold nodded and then told the driver, “Full speed ahead!”

The driver responded, “The other APCs just reached the airport. They are already having the first transport prepare for takeoff with three of our APCs. They will be waiting for us to complete the evacuation.”

Harold nodded and the two APCs advanced along the highway toward the north-Megapolis airport at full speed.

 When the two APCs reached the north-Megapolis airport, they encountered a hastily-assembled series of police barricades. The officers behind the barricades were engaged in a gun battle with a unit of PLO soldiers in the airport. In the distance, a four-engine jet-powered cargo plane could be seen taking off into the night sky. A second transport was already lining up to take off.

The PLO soldiers saw the advancing APCs and then cleared the way as the two armored vehicles crashed through the police barricade. The officers manning it had been surprised to be attacked from behind. The two APCs expended some of their last rounds of turret ammunition on taking out a sizable number of the surprised officers as they broke through.

With the final pair of APCs at the airport, the PLO soldiers focused on covering them and keeping the remaining police officers pinned down. Then, the PLO soldiers began a full retreat to the second personnel transport as the order to fall back had finally come.

            Vivian breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that they had reached the airport. As her mind raced with the action all around her she felt flashes of worry for her mother and even fear for Nathan. She had no idea if he had died in the evening’s raids. Then Nina shouted, “We are going to let the armored vehicles back up into the heavy transport. Everyone, out of the APCs!”

            Harold nodded, and then confirmed what Nina had just declared by saying, “We are going to get as close to the second personnel transport as we can and then let the APCs get to their transport plane!”

            Vivian felt her heart begin to race when the APC driver said, moments later, “I’m opening the rear hatch. Get to the plane that has begun to taxi. We will get to the final transport and take off after you!”

            Everyone nodded and then the rear hatch was remotely opened by the driver. Harold then shouted, “Move!”

            All eight APC passengers scrambled out of the vehicle. They saw the passengers of the second APC doing the same thing. The soldiers in the group laid down some covering fire at the distant but advancing police officers. Vivian simply ran toward the opening side hatches of the stopped personnel transport. A couple of machine gun turrets on the side of the jet transports, which did not appear to be factory standard, helped to cover the retreating PLO members. Vivian saw the first personnel transport taking off, as she neared the second.

            Vivian then saw a pair of figures standing in the middle hatch of the personnel transport plane. One of them was Jeb Brooks, who was wearing body armor but seemed to be unarmed. He was pointing out targets for a blond-haired, light-skinned young woman with a sniper rifle using a pair of binoculars.

“Bang!” Vivian then screamed as a bullet coming from behind her nearly hit her in the leg. She then turned to see Jeb shouting, “They have a sniper on some scaffolding!”

The blond woman nodded and then Vivian turned to see the police sniper taking aim again. Another loud “Bang” rang out and Vivian realized that the PLO sniper had shot the police sniper in the face. His body fell from his vantage point and tumbled to the ground.

Vivian saw Nina and Harold make it to the plane’s hatch and get ushered in by Jeb. Then, she saw that another six or more police vehicles had arrived on the scene to reinforce the few remaining officers. A second pair of police helicopters had also appeared.

Vivian saw most of the remaining PLO members reach the transport as the last APC was loaded into the final plane. The planes’ turrets focused on occupying the helicopters to keep them at a distance.

Vivian finally reached the hatch. Nina and Jeb helped her up as she watched a police chopper explode from the sustained barrage of the transport’s turrets.

Jeb closed the hatch after the remaining personnel made it to the plane. He then shouted forward, “Pilots, we are clear! Seal all hatches and get us out of here now!”

Nina embraced Vivian again and said, “Mr. Stevens was on the first personnel transport plane. We are headed north… we should get to some seats, seeing as though we will take off soon!”

            Jeb, Nina, Vivian, Harold and the PLO sniper, who introduced herself to Vivian as Corporal Emila Riker, took their seats just before the plane took off.

            A few minutes into the sky, Harold told the others, “I have received confirmation that the final plane is away. She took a rocket though, so we will have to fly a bit slower to keep her from being isolated. We should not encounter any major resistance until we reach the channel, thanks to our saboteurs making it impossible for the GF’s Airforce to scramble their fighter jets in this area.”

            Nina leaned back next to Emila and said, “From what Jeb just told me, our next stop is the island to the north!”

            Vivian asked, “Why are we going there?”

            Jeb responded, “The government there is overwhelmingly pro-freedom for Pokémon. Their local legislature has defied the Prime Minister and promised to give asylum to any PLO members who arrive in their territory. They gave us these new, modified, transports for the evacuation.”

            Emila then added, “We just need to make it to the channel and the island’s fighters will escort our planes in to one of their airports.”

            Nina nodded in agreement and then leaned over and gently kissed Emila’s lips. Vivian could only think, “There is a lot that Nina has not told me.”

            The four PLO transports flew off into the night sky, without the hindrance of any Federation fighter jets following them.


	12. The War Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still experiencing some paragraph formatting issues. However, this will certainly not stop me from finishing posting this story and then posting my spiritual successor story. At least this story is 2/3 posted now.

            ---

            The next day, Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez was in his office, sitting at his desk. Standing in front of him was Director Omar Mandvi, the head of the Planetary Investigation Bureau.

            PM Rodriguez, asked Director Mandvi, “Omar, my assistants said that you had a couple of key reports for me right after I got up this morning. What do you have for me?”

            Omar nodded and then told the PM. “Sir, I have some good news…and some bad news…what would you like to hear first?”

            PM Rodriguez thought for a moment and then responded, “I think it would be best for me to hear the good news first. I could use it with all the rising tensions. It seems like the island to the north of here has de-facto seceded from the Global Federation. I am not sure what we can do to reign them in…So, yes, tell me the good news first.”

            Omar pulled out a file from a briefcase and then said, “We have discovered the truth behind the attempt on the life of Rudolph Stevens. It seems that a small band of employees from various departments of our government, including the police, army and even my department had formed a conspiracy to eliminate Mr. Stevens, believing him to be the key to stopping the PLO. This conspiracy had no official name. They clearly thought that killing Stevens would prevent a rise in tensions. However, they not only failed, their attack helped bring about a massive increase in tensions. The four conspirators who did not participate in the attack have all been quietly arrested by some of my best agents. We believe that we have seized every surviving member of the ring.”

            Geraldo clapped him hands together and smiled, he then exclaimed, “This is the first break we have had in a while. We can show the public that we have caught the surviving conspirators and use that as a way to begin toning down the state of emergency and de-escalating the tensions and violence! Maybe we can get out of this bad situation more easily than I suspected…”

            Director Mandvi then raised his hand and mentioned, “Sir, I really hate to tell you this, but the bad news may invalidate your plans. You see, last night the PLO revealed some of their secretly amassed military capacity by using repainted Armored Personnel carriers to conduct a series of breakouts/raids on this city’s police stations, which were holding arrested PLO members awaiting trial. They managed to kill a large number of our officers during the raids and the chases that ensued. There wrecks of multiple downed police helicopters now have to be removed from where they were shot down, including one of Megapolis’s major highways. The death toll from both sides has yet to be calculated. More importantly, the outcome of the battle was a major failure for us. Four new-model transport planes flew in from the northern island, while PLO troops on the ground emerged from hiding to secure a portion of the North-Megapolis Airport. Then, the APCs made their rescue raids. Finally, the APCs returned to the planes and were airlifted out, along with the human personnel involved. They even had saboteurs on the ground ready to make it impossible for our fighter jets in the area to safely take off. Most of the saboteurs slipped away before they could be caught or killed. The PLO transport planes seem to have reached the northern island’s airspace. They received a fighter escort from the island as soon as they were off the coast of this continent. Our available ground controllers and pilots did not want to start a war, so they held off from engaging the airborne convoy. It was a brilliant operation, if I do say so myself…”

            PM Rodriguez stood up, fuming, he declared, “The PLO has tipped its hand! They had to have been building their own forces for months, if not years, now! Now, we have no other choice. Omar, inform the military chiefs of staff that I am going to address our people on all available forms of media to make a major announcement. Then, I will meet with the Federation’s military leaders. This announcement will be one that I hate to have to make, since it shows that the federation has failed in its goal of preventing war. As for the attempt on Stevens’ life, keep the conspirators under arrest, but do not hurry to get them to trial.”

            As PM Rodriguez was about to leave his office, Director Mandvi asked him, “What are you going to tell everyone, sir?”

            Geraldo turned around and then plainly told Omar, “We are going to war.” After that, he left his office and informed his press secretary that he wanted as many Federation loyal reporters as they could find ready for his address within the next hour.

            ---

            The air-convoy of four transport planes, one somewhat damaged, and their later acquired fighter escorts arrived at the main airport of the northern island at around noon the day after they had left the northern Megapolis airport. The four transport planes had been nearly out of fuel when they landed. At the airport where they landed, airstrips had been cleared specially for the new arrivals.

The two armor-carrying transports landed and then disgorged their APCs. The first personnel transport landed and Mr. Stevens immediately went to meet with the governor of the island. The governor had been awaiting the return of his four transport planes.

Vivian had been told that the transports were a new model that was designed to replace the civilian version of the turboprop-driven four-engine transports used by the federation’s military. They had had gun turrets hastily attached for their maiden flight and then sent out to help evacuate the PLO members fleeing from Megapolis.

After landing, Vivian, Nina, Harold, Jeb, Emila and the others were escorted by their hosts to a hotel. It was apparently one of the few that had been cleared out to house PLO members when the island had begun resisting the state of emergency and set up a defensive naval blockade of its ports.

Vivian had the good fortune of getting her own small room in the hotel. It was not long until Nina paid her a visit.              

            Nina entered the room as Vivian was sitting on her bed. She smiled at her old friend, who had changed into casual clothes, as she entered the room and sat down next to Vivian. Nina opened up the conversation by asking Vivian, “So, how are you holding up?”

            Vivian smiled faintly back at Nina and replied, “I am thankful for the rescue, even if it was in the interest of the PLO to get its members out of jail so that they could not talk or betray the organization under the fear of being tortured. However, I am afraid of what will happen to my mother. The feds should know that I was among those who escaped during the raids of last night. My mother might be in danger because of our familial connection.”

            Nina could only reply, “Your mother is tough and smart, she will find out what to do if she gets targeted by the loyalists.”

            Vivian cocked her head a bit and then asked Nina, “Are the ‘loyalists’ the government?”

            Nina replied, “Yes, we in the PLO have been using the term ‘loyalist’ to describe those who support the pro-slavery Federation government ever since the state of emergency was declared.”

            Vivian simply nodded and made a mental note to remember the term “loyalist” for later. She then admitted, “You know, even though he broke up with me once he found out the truth about my PLO affiliation, I am still worried about what happened to Nathan…Anyway, what about you and this Emila Riker?”

            Nina, who had been giving Vivian a mild glare, smiled and then replied, “Well, we met during our secret training as PLO military operatives. We had both been selected, but for different infantry roles. We started talking one day and later had coffee at the shop I used to manage. We hooked up one night and then began an affair that is still ongoing. For a sharpshooter, she can be very sweet in private.”

            Vivian then asked Nina, “Anything else I should know about your new girlfriend?”

            Nina smiled back at Vivian and then replied, “She actually comes from an old, wealthy military family from the Western Continent. Her family is large enough that it got split into two competing factions over the idea of Pokémon liberation when the PLO became active in that region. Emila sided with the anti-slavery faction of her family and was sent to the Megapolis PLO secretly as their representative. As per Riker family tradition, she has been training in her role as a sniper since she was around 12-14 years old…. You know, the PLO was a bigger deal then the press was willing to let on for quite a while. We have had significant influence on both this island and the Western Continent for quite some time. We believe that the FPL bribed and threatened the biggest news organizations to keep them from covering the PLO until the issue became unavoidable.”

            Vivian just nodded again and then asked, “Well, I am happy for you. My big question is what comes next? We are here and safe for now. Still, the FPL, with the feds’ blessing, continues to use Pokémon for blood sport. Are we just going to be locked in a stalemate now?”

            Nina nodded no and then looked awkward, she then informed Vivian, “This morning, at around 11:00 AM, Geraldo Rodriguez gave a new address. He talked about last night’s successful raids and claimed that the PLO had gone too far. He asked the parliament for a declaration of war against us. …The loyalist parliament voted in favor of the declaration. Chairman Stevens is going to make his own address tonight. Reports are coming in that both sides are already engaging in skirmishes and launching massive enlistment drives to increase the size of their forces.”

            Vivian sighed and then replied, “So, it has come to this. We will have to break the federation’s power and outlaw the use of Pokémon as slaves by force of arms… Democracy has failed, diplomacy has failed…”

            Nina then interjected, “You will need to help in some way, Vivian. We will need everyone we can get on our side in order to stand a chance in this war.”

            Vivian simply nodded and then told Nina, “I think that I will need some time to process this. I will see you in the hotel’s main restaurant for dinner. I will meet you there at 7:00.”

            Nina nodded and then, with surprising cheerfulness, said, “I will bring Emila. It will be nice to have all three of us in one place and have a nice dinner. We might not get the chance to have one again for a while, depending on how fast this war escalates.”

            Vivian just nodded somberly as Nina left the room to go be with Emila.

            That evening, Vivian, Emila and Nina had eaten a dinner in a booth of the hotel’s main restaurant. It was 8:00 and they were about to leave when they heard someone say, “Turn on the TV’s, Chairman Stevens is going to give his address now. We should be able to get it on the local news channel.”

            The restaurant’s bartender turned on the four televisions facing various parts of the dining area remotely. Vivian looked up at the screen, as did Nina and Emila.

They all saw that Rudolph Stevens, flanked at a distance by a number of well-armed guards was standing before the legislature of the island. He took a bow as his audience clapped for him. Then, he requested quiet from his audience.

After checking to make sure that all of the transmission devices in the room were functioning properly, Chairman Stevens began, “Hello, to start, I am fully aware that what I am about to say will be heard around this world. Millions of people will either become enraged, or hopefully be inspired by what I have to say tonight. I am sure that audience for my speech encompasses everyone from loyal supporters of Pokémon liberation who are hiding in fear from prowling loyalist forces, to federation officials who want to know how their foes will respond to their declaration of war, to many of those who engage directly with the enslavement and exploitation of the innocent. I do not think I even need to name those responsible for that vile behavior.”

Chairman Stevens then paused. He seemed to be contemplating something. It was not long until he continued, “The leaders of the Global Federation have made their move, they have declared that a state of war now exists between their government and the Pokémon Liberation Organization. My official response to this initiation of hostilities is to issue my own counter declaration of war against the Global Federation’s current government. We will not simply secede with whatever territory we can claim for the cause of universal freedom. We must not give up or give in until the world is cleansed of the blight of slavery! While some of us in the PLO might have disagreements on some issues, such as the use of Pokémon as pets, we must put aside our internal differences in order to wage a successful rebellion against the oppressive global government!”

The crowds on the TV and in the restaurant clapped enthusiastically as Chairman Stevens took a pause again. He then concluded his speech, “We will fight with the loyalist armies on every front we can, until the day comes when we can force the surrender of their tyrannical Federation! Then, with the defenders of slavery brought to heel, we will create a new constitution, which will include an unamendable clause that will enforce the right of all living beings to live freely! All of those who are willing to aid the fight for freedom in any way they can must stay strong and be willing to persevere though the war ahead of us. The rewards will come if we are successful in our just battle. Those rewards will be the destruction of the Federation of Pokémon Leagues and of the government that supports it! We know that the Global Federation’s so called authorities have been planning to torture PLO members for information both now and prior to the declaration of war. They will not get away with the ways they have abused their power! Mr. Rodriguez, the leaders of the FPL and all who stand with them…we ARE coming for all of you!”

The audiences clapped and cheered with intense enthusiasm as Chairman Stevens took a bow and then left the stage. The TVs were turned off and then Vivian informed Nina and Emila, “I am going to go back to my room and get some rest. I am pretty sure that I will need it after all that has happened today.”

Nina and Emila got up and then Nina told Vivian, “We will head to our room as well. Vivian, you will need to report to receive a military assignment as soon as you can. The rebel army needs everyone it can get right now.”

Vivian nodded back at Nina, a serious look on her face. The three young women then headed upstairs to get some sleep.


	13. The Mobilization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter seems to have formatted the paragraphs correctly when I copied and pasted it. We will have to see if the others to come follow suit. Thanks for reading, again.

            ---

            It was two weeks after the declaration of war had been issued by Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez. Both sides had rapidly begun to focus on building up their military strength. There had been a number of skirmishes and aerial dogfights in areas that were being actively contested by both sides. Rumors of a large new PLO facility being rapidly built up in the center of the Western Continent abounded. The war had only just begun, but the Federation’s Parliament had still passed a number of new defense appropriations bills that allowed for their military capacity to potentially grow to more than four times its peacetime size. The rebels were seizing as many military grade vehicles, weapons and production factories as they could in order to try to level the playing field. As a consequence of the need for soldiers, both sides encouraged members of their controlled territory’s police, fire and other departments to enlist in their military forces.

            At the Megapolis Federal Garrison, just south of the capital city Sergeant Nathan Ford of the Global Federation Army was looking over the checklist that showed who would be assigned to his infantry squad. Nathan had signed up for the army almost immediately after war had been declared. For all he knew, his ex-lover Vivian Prince had escaped along with the other PLO members in the, now infamous, night raids. In the process of those raids, his Captain, Julia Griffin had been killed by a grenade. Nathan was eager to kill some rebels, after just escaping death by being off-duty the night the raids had happened. He knew the best way to do so was by joining up with the quickly expanding army. Due to a lack of non-commissioned officers and his police experience, he had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant soon after he enlisted.

            Nathan was checking off names from his clipboard-bound list, thinking of how the federation army’s lack of historic use in its approximate fifty-five years of existence had made their budget low enough that they had not updated to using electronic tablets for their checklists yet. Thankfully, his assault rifle was a newer model, as he would need to rely on it in the heat of battle. As his eyes were looking over the checklist one last time, Nathan heard a timid-sounding male voice asking him, “Excuse me sir… are you Sergeant Nathan Ford?”

            Nathan lowered his clipboard to see a blond young man wearing a recon soldier’s uniform and a pair of glasses. He was carrying a semi-automatic rifle at his side. Nathan then nodded yes to the new arrival’s question. The young man then saluted Nathan awkwardly and then continued, “Private Nicholas Kopek reporting for duty, sir!”

            Nathan nodded and then checked off the name “Nicholas Kopek” from his checklist. That name had been the last name on his list. He then said to the young soldier, “Yours was the last name on my list. Now, I have everyone in my squad accounted for. I do have to ask you, thought… you do not look much like the frontline soldiering type? Not to be mean, but it seems like the army is taking whoever applies now?”

            Nicholas laughed awkwardly and then told Nathan, “Well, sir, I have my reasons for enlisting. I was assigned to recon duty because I can run decently fast… and am not that tough. I could not stand to see the PLO defame Pokémon Training any longer, did you see what someone called May Benson put up on their old website?”  

            Nathan sighed and then responded, “I have a history with ‘May Benson’ myself… a very personal history. Anyway, I joined up because I wanted to help defend our government from being overthrown by a radical dissident faction and because I love the sport of Pokémon Training. I can only assume that you are also a fan of the sport yourself?”

            Nicholas nodded his head no and then said, “I was actually a trainer, sir. I was not big on the tournaments, honestly. I raised and battled Pokémon up on the southern coast of the frontier continent. I have always believed that humans and Pokémon can form personal bonds, even with the barriers in communication that we have with most of them. I enjoyed my job as a way to form friendships and have adventures with both humans and Pokémon. Now, the PLO wants to separate us by force. I left my Pokémon in storage and traveled down here to help the loyalist forces, as the PLO calls us, fight to shut down this rebellion!”

            Nathan nodded and then admitted, “Well, kid, you probably have a more noble motivation than mine for getting involved in this fight. You should report to our barracks as soon as you can. It is barracks #15.”

            Nicholas saluted Nathan and then asked, “Before I go sir, what was your history with May Benson?”

            Nathan sighed and then told Nicholas, “If you want the truth, I might as well tell you now. Her real name is Vivian Prince. She was a Umbalan immigrant… and my lover. She got corrupted by a friend of hers named Nina Hale and became a PLO editorial writer. She used the pseudonym May Benson mainly to hide the truth from me. As far as I know, after she was arrested and we broke up at my insistence, she escaped with the other PLO people in the raid that began this war. Her mother later disappeared. She was not in her apartment when I went to try and talk with her. Now, I’m hearing that Vivian’s mother, Pamela Prince, was seen with some suspected PLO saboteurs in the southern suburbs of Megapolis. If you want proof, I can show you pictures of us together on my smartphone …Does that answer your question, private Kopek?”

            Nicholas shuffled his feet awkwardly and then responded, “I am so sorry to hear that, sir. I will head over to the barracks now.”

            Nicholas left and then Nathan walked over to the ammunition depot where he found his second command, Corporal Alexia Martin. Cpl. Martin was a tall and imposing brunette woman. In fact, she was the most muscular woman Nathan had ever encountered to his memory. She needed her muscles, seeing as though she was an anti-armor soldier, also known as a “rocketeer.” Alexia saw Nathan enter as she was inspecting the garrison’s supply of missile launchers. She saluted her CO and then asked, “So, has all of our unit reported in?”

            Nathan nodded yes and then said, “Our final members is a young former trainer named Nicholas Kopek. He seems a bit frail for this job. However, he is determined to help us win this war. We should keep an eye on him, when possible.”

            Alexia nodded and then added, “We seem to be all stocked up here, I think we should return to our barracks, sir.”

            Nathan nodded and the two of them turned to leave, then an oval-shaped metallic creature with magnets sticking out of its body floated over to them.

            Nathan staggered and then asked, no one in particular, “What kind of Pokémon is that?”

            The creature then responded, “Sergeant Ford, I am Magnezone, an artificial Pokémon. I manage the command bunker of this base. I have help, of course, but I have been programmed to have impeccable technical skills. More importantly, I have been ordered to retrieve you two to participate in a meeting of the officers and non-commissioned officers of this base. They are trying to formulate a plan to deal with the PLO guerrillas in this area who have remained after their initial raids.”

            Nathan then nodded and he, along with Alexia, followed Magnezone to the garrison’s command bunker. As they walked back to the bunker, Nathan and Alexia saw a number of other artificial Pokémon helping make repairs and prepare vehicles for takeoff, or moving out. Most of them were Porygon of either the first or second model. Nathan also noticed a number of non-Pokémon mobile turret drones being readied for a patrol of the perimeter. The drones had been assigned that duty ever since a small, elite, group of PLO saboteurs had infiltrated the garrison to make sure that its fighter jets could not be scrambled to attack the retreating PLO transports.

            Magnezone led Alexia and Nathan inside the bunker and then told them, “Head downstairs to find the main command room. The meeting begins in fifteen minutes there.”

            Nathan and Alexia nodded and then headed to the meeting. Magnezone went off to supervise some Porygon under its control in finishing repairs on some fighter jets being kept nearby.

            As Nathan descended the stairs he thought, “So, I assume we will be deployed soon. I hope we see some actual action, not just have to hunt for out of uniform resistance fighters.” Then, he and Alexia reached the command room.

            ---           

            A total of two months from the official start of the war, Vivian prince was sitting on her bed in a PLO military barracks near the capital of the island nation they mostly controlled. She had reported for assignment the day after arriving in the area. She had expected, after describing her main skills, to be assigned to a propaganda unit. She was hoping for a job outside of the frontlines, but she was not granted her wish. Vivian had been told that the non-combat and propaganda–focused units were being staffed by those too young, old, or otherwise infirm to fight. Jeb Brooks had been made the head of a propaganda unit, but he seemed unwilling to take any risks by getting Vivian assigned to his branch since she was an able-bodied young woman.

            There were normally five types of frontline infantry in both armies, Recon troops carried older, but more precise, semi-automatic rifles and were intended to be used as scouts and emergency sharpshooters. Anti-Armor soldiers were heavily armored and intended to focus on taking out hostile armored vehicles and defensive positions with missile launchers and grenade launchers. Snipers, such as Emila Riker, were intended to take down enemies from a distance with normally bolt-action long range rifles. Combat engineers, like Nina Hale, were supposed to provide ammunition and medical supplies to other troops, they also carried semi-auto rifles. Lastly, were the “bread and butter” soldiers, the assault troopers. Vivian had not fit into any other branch effectively, so she was trained to be an assault trooper. Her class of soldier used assault rifles, or in the case of Sgt. Harold Burton, her new CO, a portable machine gun of the kind that would normally be attached to a turret. It was the job of assault troopers to make up the bulk of each army’s infantry forces and to attack and destroy enemy troops, once they had been located.

            Vivian had been grateful that she had, at least, been assigned to the infantry unit that also contained Nina, Emila and was led by Harold. That way, she was not in a position where she knew nobody whom she was to fight alongside.

            Vivian had been making sure that her assault rifle was properly cleaned when Nina entered the, otherwise empty, barracks. She then sat down on the bed next to Vivian’s and said, “Sgt. Burton asked me to tell you that we are going to deploy tomorrow. Our target is on this island. This will be our first real combat mission together.”

            Vivian looked up and then replied, “So, we are finally moving out then? I knew that we were going to be deployed at some point. I just thought that we would first be deployed as part of an invasion of the Central Continent’s northern coast?”

            Nina nodded and then added, “There are a small number of loyalist holdout bases on this island. Starting tomorrow, we are going to be launching a series of offensives to take them out of the war. Our squad will be paired up with an APC and a tank and used to attack the rear of the main loyalist garrison in order to flank its defenders with the help of our main force. We will be on the offensive this time, so be prepared. After we eliminate these loyalist bases, we can begin the assault on the northern coast as planned.”

            Vivian nodded and then asked Nina, “Hey, do you know if there is any truth to rumors that our allies on the Western Continent have somehow captured a Legendary Pokémon?”

            Nina shrugged and then replied, “I have heard that rumor as well. From what I know, that is most likely part of a loyalist-started disinformation campaign. I do not know what the real purpose of the new facility we have been building on the Western Continent is. I do know that it is being heavily defended against any possible airborne assault. Sgt. Burton told me that they moved a number of anti-aircraft guns to that position recently.”

            Vivian nodded back at Nina and then finished, “Well, I will make sure that all of my gear is in good shape, so that I am ready for tomorrow. Thanks for the information.”

            Nina nodded and then grinned, saying, “I need to get back to Emila now. I will see you tomorrow, Viv.”

            Vivian simply nodded and then started finishing up the maintenance on her weapons as Nina left the barracks.


	14. Vivian’s First Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still trying to work out the paragraph formatting issues. However, there are only two weeks (4 chapters) of this story left to post. As a heads up, while I mentioned having finished a spiritual successor story to ROC earlier, after doing some thinking, I am now unsure if that story is worth posting due to a number of quality issues present in it that I recently realized could be problematic. Anyway, I will try to have my decision of whether or not to post the spiritual successor made by the time that this story's final chapter is posted. Thank you all for reading.

            Vivian, Nina, Emila, Harold and a number of other PLO soldiers were inside an APC, which was following a friendly tank toward their destination. Vivian was wearing her light-brown, rebel army armored military uniform and sitting next to Nina and Harold as the APC advanced over some uneven, muddy terrain towards their target.

            Vivian’s squad, some of the members of which were marching behind the armored vehicles, had a simple objective. That was to advance down the thin mountain road until they reached the rear gate of the main loyalist garrison on the northern island. From there, they were to attack the loyalist forces from behind in an attempt to confuse and destroy the enemy.

The hostile garrison they were to attack was located on a Cliffside overlooking the sea. However, the PLO had needed to keep most of their naval forces in the area available to counter a possible enemy advance by sea towards the island. Also, most of the rebel navy had to be ready for the impending amphibious assault on the northern coast of the continent which held the global capital of Megapolis. Chairman Stevens had established the capture of Megapolis as the number one long-term strategic objective of the rebel armies. Therefore, the PLO would have to land significant regular forces on the continent as soon as practical in order to threaten that city. The rebel’s official doctrine stated that taking Megapolis would allow them to both declare themselves the new world government and claim that the remaining loyalist forces were simply remnants of the first Global Federation’s military.

The driver of the APC called out to Harold, “Sergeant, we have received word that our main force has attacked the enemy frontline. They have received severe resistance from a loyalist tank squad, but our air support is coming in soon.”

Harold nodded and then responded, “Good, we may not have many bombers, but they should be able to make quick work of the enemy’s armored squads. Continue our advance, we need to distract the enemy with our attack on their rear flank!”

The driver nodded and then the PLO vehicles and soldiers picked up the pace of their advance.

Within twenty minutes of the last report, the driver called out, “We are on approach to the loyalist base.”

Harold then shouted, “All infantry, disembark the APC!”

The eight PLO soldiers in the APC disembarked the vehicle and then they joined their comrades who had been advancing on foot. The APC and the tank then moved into positon to advance together, with their infantry support behind them.

As they neared the rear of the loyalist base, they saw that some dirt and sandbag barricaded had been set up. Suddenly a machine gun began firing from the center of the barricade. Then, a number of loyalist troops stood up and began to fire on the advancing PLO forces. One GF soldier fired a missile launcher at the squad’s APC. The rocket struck the vehicle’s front armor and did significant damage, but did not destroy it.

The PLO tank then aimed its main cannon at the machine gun positioned at the center of the barricade and fired.

The loyalist MG nest was consumed in an explosion and then, Harold shouted, “Troops, advance. Charge!”

Like a good sergeant, Harold took the lead, laying down covering fire with his machine gun. Vivian took a deep breath and then rushed forward towards the enemy position.

As she charged forward, Vivian readied her weapon and ran towards the right edge of the enemy defenses. Vivian saw Nina toss a grenade over a part of the enemy’s piled dirt barricades. She did not see what result came from that, as her attention was drawn to a loyalist tank, which looked the same as the PLO tank but with military green paint as opposed to light-brown paint, coming from the nearby hillside. The GF tank destroyed the weakened PLO APC with a single shot from its main gun.

The PLO tank responded by blasting the hostile tank with its own gun, only blowing off a bit of the hostile vehicle’s armor plating. Harold shouted, “Keep moving! Someone blast that hostile armor with a launcher! Someone else, cover them!”

            Vivian managed to make it over the enemy defenses with a couple of other assault troopers following her. She saw a number of GF soldiers turning their attention to them. One of the enemy troopers had stood up too high, she promptly had her head blown off by a shot from Emila, who had been covering Nina’s advance.

            Vivian then aimed her assault rifle, as the loyalists reacted to the rebel’s presence. She saw an enemy recon trooper shoot his rifle past her gunning down one of her comrades. As the other surviving rebel trooper charged past her, Vivian aimed at the enemy who had just killed one of her allies and took a quick, but deep, breath. As he was preparing to fire a rifle-grenade, Vivian screamed unintelligibly and opened fire. The enemy recon soldier crumpled as Vivian’s ally gunned down a pair of enemies who were still trying to hold off the majority of the rebel squad.

            Vivian quickly reloaded and then thought, “I think I just killed someone! Well, it was either him or us.” Then, she advanced, watching the enemy tank explode from an infantry-fired missile after damaging the rebel squad’s tank.

            As the GF troops began to retreat from their overrun positions, Harold shouted, “Follow the tank forward!”

            Vivian then saw a pair of PLO bombers, and their small fighter escort, coming in towards the base from a distance as her squad charged in behind their armor support. They encountered a small number of troops and a pair of machine guns on towers as they charged at the actual back gates of the enemy base.

Emila made an impressive running shot, which downed one of the machine gunners. The other was taken out by the squad’s rocketeer. The rebel tank used its main cannon to blast the armored gates open and then it rammed what was left of the gates out of the way.

As Vivian and her allies opened fire on the fleeing loyalist troops, Vivian reminded herself that most battles would not be this easy. The rebels had an unusually large advantage in this fight because it was being held on their turf. Vivian then saw and heard explosions from the bombers attack on the enemy tanks in the distance as her unit entered the base.

Harold said, “They were ready for an attack from the rear, but not ready enough.” as he led the charge against the loyalist troops who still stood between his squad and the main battle.

Vivian saw an enemy rocketeer aiming at the rebel tank, as it advanced through the base. She then sighted her assault rifle and took out the enemy with a stream of bullets, before he could lock on to her squad’s tank. Nina nodded approvingly at Vivian as she fired at the loyalist defenders from behind the tank.

Emila then pointed out, “I see a building that looks like it could be their command post. We should investigate it!”

Harold nodded and then said, “I see it, Cpl. Riker. The tank will keep advancing with a third of our remaining infantry. The rest of us will advance on that building.”

Vivian and Harold lead the charge up to the dark green-roofed building, which was adorned with the symbol of the Global Federation, which looked like the world as seen from space with the continent containing Megapolis at the center. They then rushed for cover as they saw two men wearing heavily armored uniforms and carrying heavy machine guns, advance on them from the command building.

The two hostile elite soldiers sprayed the area with bullets from their machine guns and then tried to move past the PLO troops cover. Harold bravely laid down suppressive fire from his machine gun in order to keep the enemies from getting too close. Then, one of the PLO troops took out a grenade launcher and began firing explosives at one of the enemy elites. The barrage of grenades managed to take down one of the gunners. The PLO man with the grenade launcher had to take cover and reload after that, however.  

As the surviving elite soldier advanced, Emila took aim at him and brought him down with a round between the eyes. Harold then smiled at Emila and reloaded his weapon, he then said, “Good work, everyone. Now, we take that building!”

            Harold, as he seemed accustomed to doing, led his unit’s charge right up to the front door of the Federation command building. He then used the butt of his weapon to force the door open and then, with Vivian and the others right behind him, he burst in.

            Vivian and Harold sprayed the room with bullets as they saw a small number of hostile soldiers had been waiting for them to enter. Shots raced past Vivian as she took down two enemies before having to reload. Thankfully, her allies kept the pressure on and brought down the other federation troops in the first-floor lobby of the command building.

As another unit of loyalist soldiers ran down the stairs to engage Vivian’s unit, Emila sniped one of them, Nina and Vivian each gunned down one. The squad’s grenadier fired on the staircase and took out the rest.

Harold looked around and saw that one of his squad’s recon soldiers had been killed in the quick firefight, he then said, “We lost four in the advance, plus the APC, plus our newest casualty. That leaves around three-quarters of our unit intact. Still, I think that we could be doing a lot worse. We are certainly killing more of them then they are of us.”

Emila then added, “We should clear out this whole building, sir. Then, we can count our dead and theirs.”

Harold nodded and then said, “We will split up. I will take Cpl. Riker and one other trooper. We will clear this floor out. Prince, Hale, take one of our remaining recon troops and clear out the third floor. Everyone else left, take the second floor.”

The young recon solider who followed Vivian and Nina up to the third floor was a redheaded young woman named Ali. Vivian knew little else about her, but she covered Nina, who was bringing up the rear, as Vivian led the way.

The trio of female PLO soldiers could hear brief spouts of gunfire from other parts of the building, as well as the main battle outside. They found no hostiles until they found a large double door that seemed covered in armor plating, some of the armored plates looked newly added.

Nina said, “I can get the door open by disabling the lock. You two, be ready to deal with whatever is inside!”

Ali and Vivian nodded and Vivian told Ali, “We should each get a grenade ready. We will throw them just inside the room to take out any waiting guards and then go in guns blazing.”

Ali nodded and then Nina began disabling the locks, she said, “I hear noises in there, they sound like human voices.”

It took more time than expected for Nina to disable the locks and fall back. Then, Vivian and Ali, ran forward and opened the double doors. They each then tossed a primed grenade just inside, without looking, and closed the doors.

Two small explosions could be heard and then Vivian kicked the doors open. A woman’s voice shouted, “We surrender! ...rebels.”

Vivian, Nina and Ali pointed their loaded weapons around the room to see that two GF assault troopers had been killed by the grenades. A female loyalist officer, who looked to be a major going by her uniform. Was cautiously walking forward with her hands on her head. Behind her were two non-combatant male technicians and what looked like a small number of unarmed civilians in the room’s corners, including children.

Nina pointed her weapon at the loyalist major and asked her, “Don’t move any closer. Now, who are these civilians and why are they in your command room?”

The major, who like Ali was a redhead, responded as she stopped her forward walking, “My name is Major Victoria Chase and this is my base you are invading. As for the civilians, they are some of the citizens of this island who do not support your radical movement. They have taken refuge here with us, as they don’t want to support a war effort they do not believe in.”

Vivian then said, “Major Chase, you are now our prisoner. I want you to tell your remaining soldiers that they are to surrender to our army.”

Major Chase nodded and then mumbled, “It is humiliating to surrender to rebels, especially privates.”

Nine radioed Harold and the others and told them of her detachment’s discovery. Within ten minutes, the rest of the PLO squad was in the command room. Harold allowed Major Chase to radio her forces and tell them to surrender. Then, he handcuffed her wrists behind her back.

After radioing the PLO Captain in charge of the operation, Harold said, “The enemy tanks have all been destroyed, or are to be handed over to us. Our foes here have surrendered, as their CO has ordered. We are getting reports that other loyalist bases are falling all over this island. Many of them seemed to be sheltering enemy civilians as well. Now, we will escort our captive enemy officer here to the local capital and allow our Captain to make sure that the other federation prisoners are taken to the nearest POW camp. We have done well today, troops. We suffered no more losses since we split up. Now, let’s head back to our HQ.”

Harold and Vivian escorted the captured Major Chase out of the building and into a waiting PLO APC. Then, the other military and civilian prisoners were escorted away by the main PLO force. Harold and his squad were sent back to HQ faster. Their Captain told them that they had earned the increased rest before the planned invasion of the coastline to the south was to occur.


	15. The Coastal Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems like this chapter formatted the paragraphs correctly. Also, I have decided that I will post my spiritual successor story after this story is fully posted, as planned. Thank you all for reading.

            ---

            It was around a month after the fall of the last loyalist garrison on the northern island. Sgt. Nathan Ford and his unit had been recently transferred to the far southern plains region of the Central Continent. While still a significant distance from the southern coast line, the plains were to the south of both the large mountain range south of Megapolis and the continent’s main river. The region was home to the hometown of Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez. When units of the rebel army had begun marching north of their positions on the southern coast and into the urban areas of the plains, the Prime Minister had authorized a significant transfer of forces from Megapolis and the surrounding area to engage and destroy the rebel battalions before they could reach the river.

            Nathan, Nicholas and one of their squad’s female assault troopers were all covering behind the ruins of a wall that had once belonged to a middle-class house. Across the street from the to the right was Alexia and one of their male combat engineers.

            Nathan ducked again as a shell from a nearby rebel tank just barely flew over their position. It exploded nearby, but the Federation troops escaped injury from the blast. Nathan then peeked over his cover to see the enemy tank trying to keep Alexia pinned down with its machine gun. He then noticed a trio of rebel troops advancing on their position. Nathan then shouted, “Rebel infantry incoming, fire!”

            Nathan, Nicholas and their ally all raised their weapons on the advancing rebels and opened fire. Two of the rebels were downed in short order, not expecting their foes to pop out of their cover. The third raised her rifle, but was taken down by a rifle-grenade from Nicholas. Nathan looked over to Nicholas as they all took cover again and then said, “Good shot, kid. You are getting better at this!”

            Nicholas smiled back at Nathan and then looked up over the ruined wall and shouted, “The tank is aiming towards us!”

            Nathan popped up, saw that Nicholas was telling the truth and then was about to give the order to fall back when Alexia was able, thanks to the tank being distracted by the deaths of its supporting infantry, to destroy the armored vehicle with her rocket launcher.

            After the shrapnel from the destroyed tank had come to rest, Nathan looked up and saw that the remaining rebel infantry in the area were falling back. Nathan then shouted, “Move up, we need to keep pressure on them as they retreat!”

            The battle for this area had been going on for the past few weeks. The loyalist forces had come to outnumber their PLO enemies. Today’s fighting had been the culmination of a considerable time pushing the rebels back. The higher ups had wanted to both force the rebels to retreat from the plains and also destroy a considerable amount of their fighting forces on the Central Continent. The rebels were said to have claimed the entire northern island, they were also reported to be making fast gains on the Western Continent and slower gains in both Umbala and Skylaria to the south. Therefore, the loyalist army needed to do whatever they could to keep the PLO away from their stated goal of taking Megapolis. They were to do so by preventing them from maintaining or establishing a significant foothold on the Central Continent.

            Nathan led his unit in a forward charge, reloading his assault rifle as he advanced to another cover position. Alexia was given another rocket by the combat engineer following her. She then used a, well-placed, dumb-fired rocket to take out a small cluster of fleeing PLO soldiers. Nathan and Nicholas began to take potshots at the retreating enemies as the rest of their squad formed up around them and laid down a “wall” of lead on the fleeing PLO troops.       

            As he was reloading his weapon, Nathan heard a voice coming in through his radio headset, saying, “Sgt. Ford, move your unit away from the fleeing rebels. Our jets are coming in to take out their APCs before they can move down the road to the southern coast.”

            Nathan responded, “Understood. I will move my squad back. You may commence your airstrike upon arrival.”

            Nathan then shouted, “Move back, friendly jets are incoming!”

            Nathan’s troops followed his order and moved away from the remaining rebels as a pair of Federation jet fighters screamed in from the north and destroyed the three PLO APCs parked on the outskirts of town with a scattering of, well-aimed, small bombs. Nathan then saw a pair of loyalist tanks moving in. He then shouted, “Our armor has arrived. We are to eliminate the remaining rebels, charge!”

            Nathan led his troops in behind the tanks as they rushed the small scattering of rebel troops who had survived the airstrike. He gunned down two PLO recon troops as the sought cover behind the destroyed remains of an APC. Loyalist snipers were starting to take positions on what remained of the upper floors of the town’s buildings. With their help and the cover the two tanks provided, Nathan’s unit was able to destroy what was left of the rebel force that had been occupying the town within minutes.

            Once the area had been cleared of the final few PLO stragglers and the Federation units in the area had all regrouped. Nathan radioed the nearby loyalist command post with news of their victory. He then asked them if they had any news of importance, or new orders for his unit. The response that came in said, “Well, Sgt. Ford, we have heard a report that a rebel transport aircraft, with an unusually large fighter escort, left their facility on the Western Continent with an unknown cargo and reached their HQ on the northern island without incident. More importantly for your squad, orders have come in that as many of our units as we can spare are to begin moving up north. That includes your unit. We now know that a rebel fleet has begun sailing toward the northern coast. We believe they plan to open up a front there. They also are almost certainly planning to advance towards Megapolis from that beachhead.”

            Nathan nodded and then responded, “As soon as we can we will begin moving north. Thank you for the intel.”

            Nathan then told Alexia that they would find a place to rest the night and then return to their command post the next day.

            ---

            The day after Nathan’s forces had driven off the rebels to the far south, Vivian Prince and her squad were on board the rebel’s flagship dreadnaught standing in a briefing room, where Harold was about to begin their meeting. Harold had placed a map of the northern coastline on the table at the center of the room. The map was marked with the two main beaches where the PLO was going to land significant forces and the towns they were to occupy as quickly as possible after their landings. A small coastal facility to the west of the towns and beaches was marked with a red circle around it.

            Harold looked around to make sure that hi entire squad had arrived, he then nodded and began, “Alright ladies and gentlemen, we should all be honored, because our leaders have given us a special assignment. While our main force is storming the beaches, and occupying as much territory as they can, we are going to deploy separately from this dreadnaught, the _Kyogre_ , and move to the west, keeping our distance from the coast. Then, we will land at the small patch of beach closest to our target. From there, the majority of our troops will find the best possible cover position and engage the main loyalist force based at the enemy research facility. I will lead, Cpl. Riker, Nina, Vivian and Ali inside to take our real target. We are going to steal an experimental Federation light transport aircraft and fly it back to our fleet’s aircraft carrier. Once the aircraft has been stolen, the main squad will fall back to the landing craft, or fully take the facility, whichever seems more feasible at the time.”

            Nina then took over and continued, “It will be my job to pilot the aircraft. The loyalist scientist defector who told us about it says that it is some kind of jet-powered VTOL gunship with a new weapons system mounted on it. We need to know what the loyalists are planning with whatever new technology they have gotten their hand on. So, we need to get this prototype back to our forces intact.”

            Everyone nodded and then saluted Harold. Then, the squad walked up to the dreadnaught’s top deck and saw the huge fleet of rebel warships, transports and docked landing craft sailing toward the, now barely visible, coastline. Vivian could see the rebel aircraft carrier, _Lugia_ , not far from them, a number of the northern island’s jet fighters, which were of a different model then the Federation’s fighter jets, were preparing for takeoff from its flight deck. A small unit of rebel bombers flew above the fleet, preparing to destroy the loyalist’s defensive bunkers and tanks units before they could severely weaken the rebel forces that would be deployed onto the beaches.

            Vivian knew that it was not her job to be part of the main force that would storm the beaches and hopefully begin the process of advancing on Megapolis. She and her unit boarded their landing craft and then it detached from the side of the _Kyogre_.

            The landing craft sped through the water away from the PLO fleet as the aircraft carrier began launching fighters and the rebel ship’s long range cannons began to bombard the loyalists hastily built defensive bunkers and comparatively small defensive fleet. The long-range guns of the loyalist coastal defenses and warships began to return fire as Vivian watched the rebel dreadnaught _Kyogre_ bombard a loyalist destroyer into oblivion with its front-mounted triple gun turret batteries.

            As the landing craft sped away from the emerging battle and the other rebel landing craft were just being detached and speeding towards the coast, Vivian mentally wished the anti-slavery forces of the main invasion force good luck.

            By the time the landing craft was nearing the small coastal research facility, the squad saw a series of small blasts coming from just outside of it. Harold shouted, “Incoming mortars!”

            The driver of the rebel landing craft sped up to allow his craft to evade a number of artillery shells, which were landing near enough to the craft to shake the water around it by creating massive plumes. To the driver’s credit, he was able to maneuver the craft around the facility until it appeared to be out of range of the mortars. Then, he sent it careening for the small patch of beech closest to the target.

            The landing craft slowed down and then beached itself enough to allow the twenty soldiers riding in it to scramble out. Harold then shouted, “Turrets, get down!”

            Two machine gun turrets opened up on the rebel squad as they dived for cover. In between them, a third turret began to glow and then fired a blast of multi-colored energy into a rebel assault trooper, almost vaporizing him and certainly killing him.

            Nina shouted, “That is probably their new weapons system!” As she was finishing up, one of the squad’s rocketeers used her launcher to lock on to and destroy the energy cannon before it could fire again. The explosion from the energy cannon also destroyed both of the machine guns and most of the cover in front of them. All three gunners were also killed.

            Harold then told the squad, “I will take the four others I declared earlier and advance into the facility. The rest of you, do whatever you can to draw out and kill the enemy troops in this base. We will be counting on you to help us not get overwhelmed here.”

            Harold’s troops saluted him and then they scrambled up towards where the turrets were previously located to await the arrival of more loyalist soldiers.

            Harold found a door and kicked it open. The three loyalist troops behind the door were gunned down by Vivian and Harold in short order. Then, Harold, Vivian, Emila, Nina and Ali began making their way to the hanger of the facility.

            Thankfully for Harold and his small force, most of the base’s soldiers did move in to engage the rest of the squad near the beachhead they had made. Ali and Emila scouted ahead, as they were stealthier than the others. They quietly eliminated the small number of Federation troops in their way, until the five soldiers regrouped outside of a door marked with the word “hanger.”

            Once again, Harold kicked the door open and then the five soldiers ran to take cover behind some concrete barricades. They saw two normal loyalist jet fighters flanking an unpainted vehicle with an energy cannon mounted where the door-guns of a normal helicopter gunship would be mounted on each side. The vehicle had an engine on each of its short wingtips and a third engine on its tail. Nina said, “That should be it. It looks big enough to carry all five of us…”

            At that point, a pair of loyalist snipers began firing from the hanger’s control deck above and a number of assault troopers and combat engineers ran in from two doorways on the opposite side on the hanger. The squad was pinned down. Vivian shouted, “What do we do now?”

            Harold seemed at a loss for once, then Ali shouted, “Take them out! Don’t waste this…”

            As Emila and Nina were both about to say something to Ali, she ran out from behind cover.

            Vivian and Harold used the distraction to take out four of the surprised loyalist troops while they were out of cover, two each. Then, Ali used a rifle grenade to take out two more enemies who had found cover. The snipers then realized what had happened and Ali took two shots to the chest. She then aimed her rifle up and unloaded a final clip into one of the loyalist snipers, killing her. Ali then succumbed to her injuries and slumped to the floor, dead.

            Emila shot the last hostile sniper in the head and then Nina took out the final pair of enemy assault troopers with her own rifle grenade.

            Harold then breathed deeply and said, “Her sacrifice for our cause will not be in vain. To the prototype!”

            The four remaining PLO soldiers advanced to the gunship and Nina started the vehicle, saying, “This is not a jet, it is something else! I have no clue what powers this aircraft’s engines. Let’s see if it can fly?”

            Harold then ordered, “I will help Pvt. Hale, Prince, Riker each of you take a turret and destroy the enemy jet fighters. We do not want them chasing us!”

            Vivian nodded and then got behind the energy cannon. As the small gunship took off, Vivian and Emila sprayed the fighters with uncharged shots, making them incapable of safe flight and rendering much of their frames disintegrated. As one last unit of five total Federation troops rushed out to try and stop the fleeing rebels, Emila and Vivian focused on killing the enemy rocketeers to allow for their escape. The normal bullets of the loyalist soldiers just bounced off of the aircraft’s armor.

            Nina shouted, “Doors closing, we are off!”

            As the last two Federation soldiers kept shooting the escaping aircraft, to no real effect, Nina closed its side doors remotely from the cockpit. Then, they blasted off towards the PLO fleet.

            As they were flying away, Harold said, “I have just established radio contact with our allies on the ground. They believe that they can take the facility. I have ordered them to seize any physical or digital documents pertaining to the research that was being done there. From what we saw, it seems like their actual scientists were evacuated inland before we could arrive. Hale, take us to the Aircraft Carrier _Lugia_ , we will land there and present this vehicle to the captain of that vessel.”

            Nina nodded and then said, “I still want to know how this thing flies! We will need to know so that we can ‘refuel’ it, eventually.”

            Harold nodded and then they flew the stolen aircraft back to the _Lugia_ , where the flight deck was partially cleared for them to land.

            Once they had landed, the captain walked up the four squad-mates and shook all of their hands, saying, “Amazing work! We will have this beauty taken, using a lift, below deck for further study. You all should also know that we have established two beachheads. We will be moving troops in to attack the enemy-occupied towns on the coast soon. You all deserve some rest, however.”

            Harold saluted the captain and then said, “We will return to the _Kyogre_ whenever you want us to. Being deployed directly to the coastline tomorrow also works. Just let us know.”

            The captain then saluted the squad again, as his engineers took over moving the small gunship below deck.

            Vivian was sad that her squad-mate Ali had died. However, she was relieved that their mission had been a success. At least her comrade’s sacrifice had allowed them to potentially rob the loyalists of a major technological advantage.


	16. Retreat from the Coast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some formatting issues still persist, but they do not seem that bad this time. Also, as you might have noticed, I am posting this chapter on a Thursday night. That is simply because I will probably be too busy tomorrow morning to post the chapter then. Anyway, only two chapters of this story left. Thank you all for reading.

            A month had passed since the rebel fleet had managed to land forces on the northern coast of the Central Continent. In that time, a large town that was host to a significant port, which had come under PLO occupation, had allowed the landing on more rebel forces. However, the loyalist forces, having adopted a strategy of keeping the Central Continent as clear of PLO units as possible, advanced several air, land and naval units north in order to repel the rebel forces back to their island headquarters.

            The fighting had been fierce, as the loyalist forces had begun their push north on a number of key roads leading south from the coast. Ultimately, the rebels simply did not have the soldiers available to resist the Federation convoys pushing north. Even though it was a risky maneuver, the loyalists recalled a large portion of their navy from other fronts in order to assemble a flotilla large enough to weaken the rebel’s naval forces to the extent where they would soon be forced to fall back to their base port to the north. That loyalist flotilla attacked the rebel navy from both flanks.

            The theft of the experimental light transport aircraft from the loyalists’ coastal research facility had only proven to the rebels that their enemies were working on developing flight mechanisms and distance weaponry that used a similar kind of pure energy that was believed to be contained in the bodies of all Pokémon. While the experimental aircraft had been safely sent back to the PLO’s current headquarters, the rebel scientists were not yet able to safely replicate its technology. Some of the documents recovered from the Federation research facility had also hinted that the loyalists were developing a much more dangerous energy-powered vehicle, which would equip conventional weaponry, in an underground base hidden beneath Megapolis.  

            ---

            It was the day when the loyalist ground forces had managed to penetrate the outskirts of one of the northern coast’s critical port towns, which had previously been evacuated by its civilian population. Sgt. Nathan Ford was leading his squad forward down the main street of the town with a trio of loyalist tanks in front of them. The tanks were both providing mobile cover for their infantry support and destroying the rebel’s armored vehicles and stationary defenses that were covering the evacuation of the main rebel force from the town.

            Nathan’s unit’s orders had been to press forward through the units of fanatical PLO troops who had mostly volunteered to stay behind while the others boarded helicopter and naval transports that were to carry as many rebels back to the relative safety of the northern island as possible. Nathan and his allies were to try and reach the rebel transports before they could leave to rejoin their fleet, which was trying to hold off the loyalist navy ships attacking their flanks. It was believed by the Federation’s higher ups that stopping the rebels from fleeing with a significant portion of their land forces would deal a crippling, but not final, blow to them. That crippling blow would both ensure the security of the Central Continent from rebel invasion and weaken the remaining rebel armies.

            As the three Federation tanks advanced up the street, destroying rebel barricades, gun emplacements and armored vehicles along the way, Nathan and his troops covered them by killing rebel infantry peeking out from alleyways, windows and rooftops.

            Nathan and Nicholas had just managed to eliminate a rebel elite trooper carrying a heavy machine gun, who had tried to take out the infantry hiding behind the tanks. As Nathan reloaded, he said, “We are advancing fast, but this town is decently large. This place is probably still crawling with rebels. Pvt. Kopek…”

            Nicholas responded “Sir!” As Alexia took out a rooftop machine gun nest with her rocket launcher.

            Nathan continued, “I want you to mobilize our other recon units and start fanning out into the alleyways. I want you all to send me reports around every ten minutes. Try to avoid any large rebel units and focus on identifying where their troops are and taking down stragglers. We will keep pushing up this main road. They will probably intensify their defenses when they realize that we are pushing ahead as quickly as we are now.”

            Nicholas saluted Nathan and shouted back, “Yes Sir. I will tell the others your orders and we will fan out.”

            As Nicholas started informing the other recon troops of their Sergeant’s orders, Nathan aimed up and fired on a rebel sniper who had just killed one of his assault troopers. She fell from her position after Nathan’s rounds hit home. He then smiled, thinking, “This war will hopefully be over soon. Then, I can get back to police work and we can be rid of this ‘Training is slavery’ nonsense…Wherever you are, Vivian, if you even still live…I hope you survive this mess.”

            Nathan had not forgotten his former lover. He had tried to forget her, but he still had her picture on his smartphone. In fact, he had shown it to Nicholas in order to prove his earlier statements about his having a history with “May Benson.” Nathan then shook his head quickly and ducked down behind the tank again. He remembered that he still had a job to do. If he survived the war, then he would attempt to discover Vivian’s fate. For now, he had to focus on the survival of his unit.  

            ---

            On the northern side of town, Sgt. Harold Burton was helping coordinate PLO military vehicles that were on their way to the docks to be loaded into transport ships bound for the main fleet.

After telling the driver at the head of a small convoy of cargo trucks where to go, he was approached by Vivian Prince and Emila Riker. Vivian asked Harold, “Sir, is it true that Nina went off to go support one of our armored units still in the town?”

            Harold responded, “Yes, I received a radio message that a small unit of our tanks were retreating north be evacuated on a newly docked transport. Pvt. Hale volunteered to go with the small infantry escort unit we were hastily assembling to help cover their retreat.”

            Emila then said, “I warned her about going. But she is so committed to the cause. She said that she should be helping to cover the retreat and taking out as many loyalist soldiers as she could before we have to evacuate this town.”

            Vivian then looked Sgt. Burton in the eyes and asked him, “Sir, I know that Cpl. Riker and I were to stay here and be evacuated in a transport chopper as soon as most of our armored vehicles were away, but I am asking for your permission to go see if we can locate Nina Hale and help her retreat to this positon. If we don’t return within the next two hours, then you may evacuate without us, when the time is right. We cannot stand here while Nina is still in danger!”

            Harold sighed deeply and then said, “You have my permission to go, just keep in mind that the enemy is retaking this town fast. Find Pvt. Hale and get her back here safely, with whoever else you can find. Cpl. Riker, you are in charge of this mission, since you outrank Pvt. Prince. I am needed here to help ‘direct the traffic’ and incase our enemies break through to this position before the evacuation is finished.”

            Emila and Vivian then saluted Harold and Emila said, “I can lead us to the position where the Nina said she was when she last contacted me. We will focus on stealth and avoiding enemy units where we can. You will have to follow my lead.”

            Vivian simply nodded and replied, “Yes, ma’am. You lead the way and I will cover you as best as I can.”

            Emila nodded back and then attached a silencer to her rifle as they headed out into the town. She then added, “Just try to avoid being seen by the enemy. If we see an engagement that does not appear to involve Nina’s unit, we will not take part in it. …I should not have let Nina go by herself. I just felt that Sgt. Burton needed me to help him at the docks…”

            Vivian nodded and then replied, “We both care about Nina, just in different ways. I can assure you that had I been with her and known where she was going when she volunteered to help the armored unit, I would have gone with her myself.”

            Emila smiled back at Vivian as they made their way past the rebel’s planned last line of defense and then continued advancing through the alleyways and side-streets of the town turned warzone.

            It felt like Vivian and Emila had been walking for about a half-hour when they reached a main street. They had disposed of a small number of loyalist scouts and stragglers as they made their way towards where the retreating rebel armor had last been seen.

            Emila said, “We should be close. With any luck, we can find Nina and then get back to our Sergeant without being left behind….”

            Vivian then noticed Emila fix her gave to the right of them as a single loyalist tank and a small unit of infantry started coming at them.

            With bullets flying all around, Vivian returned fire. Emila went prone and started firing shots at the Federation troops using her sniper rifle, taking down at least two of them in quick succession. Emila then shouted, “Go, Vivian!”

            Vivian gave Emila an odd look and then Emila shouted at her, “Get out of here and find Nina…save my love. I will have to distract them for as long as I can.”

            Vivian began running away toward the direction Emila pointed her at, she looked back and cringed as Emila coldly kept firing shots at the enemy troops before a blast from the tank’s primary cannon obliterated her. Vivian then ran as fast as she could, not wanting the enemy tank to find her.

            Thankfully, Vivian was able to use the alleys to flee the Federation patrol with little trouble. Eventually, she reached a side street where she finally found Nina who seemed to be trying to fix her radio, which had taken a bullet. Nina mumbled, “Come on, work! I need to reach Emila!”

            Vivian shouted, “Nina! It’s me, where are the others?”

            Nina looked up at Vivian and smiled warmly, seeming deeply relieved to see her friend. She then said, “I got separated from the armor…”

What sounded like eight rapid gunshots rang out from a small side alley. Nina Hale keeled over and died as Vivian opened her mouth. Her shock at seeing her oldest friend die was so great that she was unable to even emit a scream. A male Federation recon solider with blond hair and glasses came out from the alley and saw Vivian, who slowly raised her assault rifle at him.

The young soldier then gave Vivian a squinting look. After raising his own rifle at her, he asked, “Vivian Prince?”

Vivian simply nodded and then shouted, “How the fuck do you know my name?”

The young soldier grinned and told Vivian, “Sgt. Nathan Ford showed me your picture. Your anger indicates that the rebel I just killed was probably Nina Hale. Sgt. Ford will be sad to hear that I killed you, but the fact that I killed the woman who corrupted you as well will make him feel better.”

            While Vivian was still in shock, Nicholas Kopek pulled the trigger on his rifle and it went “click.” Nicholas panicked and then tried to get behind a nearby wall to reload. However, Vivian snapped back into reality and blasted Nicholas with her assault rifle. He took a bullet to the leg and then multiple to the chest. He fell over and Vivian walked over to him, glaring all the way.

            As Nicholas rolled over and looked up at Vivian, he said, “I am so sorry, guys…”

            Vivian then shouted down at Nicholas, her voice filled with rage and hate. She emptied the remainder of her clip into Nicholas’s head. As she breathed heavily, she thought, “He must have been talking about his squad-mates…Nathan is alive. But, Emila…and Nina…I need to not let their sacrifices be in vain. I need to make it back to our evacuating forces alive!”

            In reality, Nicholas Kopek’s last words had been an apology to his Pokémon, for he would never see them again.

            Vivian did her best to avoid loyalist patrols on her way back to the rebel lines. She managed to make it back by the time evening fell. By the time she returned, there was already an intense gun battle taking place between rebel forces and the loyalists’ advance units.

            Vivian ran across the street to the last rebel line of defense, being covered by her allies on the other side. It was not long after Vivian reached her side’s lines when a pair of PLO transport helicopters arrived and opened their rear doors to let the retreating rebel troops inside.

            As the rebel troops made a full retreat into the waiting choppers, Harold walked down the ramp of one of them and asked Vivian, as their allies scrambled up the ramp around them, “Vivian, where are Emila and Nina?”

            Vivian replied, the anguish in her face clear, “Both dead, sir. We need to retreat now. We can mourn later.”

            As Harold took Vivian into the transport helicopter and its rear hatch pulled up, he said, “Well, I am certainly sad that we lost both of them. Well, Cpl. Prince, we need to fall back to our base island now.”

            As the two helicopters took off to meet with their fleet, Vivian asked, “Corporal?”

            Harold smiled at Vivian and then said, “I am going to need someone to replace the late Corporal Riker. You seem best fit for that role, Vivian.”

            Vivian nodded as the helicopters flew off to land on the deck of the _Lugia_. Once they were on the aircraft carrier, the remains of the rebel fleet set off for their base island, with a few ships staying in the rear guard to hold off the Federation’s advancing navy.


	17. Assault on the Northern Island

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the paragraph formatting issues again. More importantly, this is the last chapter of this story, other than the epilogue. I will post the final chapter of this story this Friday and then probably begin posting my ROC spiritual successor story a week from today. Thank you all for reading.

            ---

            A few days after the rebel retreat from the northern coast, in a Federation war room in Megapolis, Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez had been speaking with a number of his military officers. He looked over to the female general whom he had spoken with just before the initial state of emergency had been declared and asked her, “You may begin your report. I want to hear, in brief, how the war has been going.”

            The general nodded back at PM Rodriguez and then replied, “We have managed to destroy the PLO rebels’ uniformed forces on the northern and southern coasts of this continent. On the Western Continent, the PLO is making impressive gains, they have secured most of that landmass. In Umbala and Skylaria to the south, the rebels and our forces have reached a stalemate. On the Frontier Continent to the north, our forces are actively battling the rebels along the civilized areas of the main coastline. The rebels on their base island are using what remains of their fleet to protect the island’s main ports. However, as I hinted at, the rebel’s naval strength is as low as it has been during this war.”

            PM Rodriguez raised his hand, indicating that the general was to stop talking. She did so and then he said, “I see, our enemies have been pushed back to their base of operations… However, they are still far from defeat in other areas. From what we know, Chairman Stevens is on that island. He and his supporters there are directing the rebel war effort. We may have achieved our goal of defending this continent from the uniformed rebel forces, but we still need to end this war. Ladies and Gentlemen, I want you to prepare your forces for two operations. The first will combine an assault on the rebel fleet units guarding the southern port close to this continent and the blockading by our naval forces of the island’s northern ports. We will then follow up with an amphibious invasion of the island, which we launch from the newly re-captured northern coast of this continent. We will call it Operation CONCLUSION, since we intend for it to be the beginning of the end for this radical rebellion.”

            The various loyalist military offices in the room saluted Prime Minister Rodriguez and told him that they would begin working on developing the details of Operation CONCLUSION as soon as they returned to their subordinates. One of the Federation’s air force commanders mentioned, as they were all leaving the room, that she would prepare a large force of bombers, and their fighter escorts, to begin bombing the rebel’s navy. She also mentioned preparing a number of transport planes to parachute soldiers over the island once the rebels’ naval forces were weakened enough.

            As he was going to return to his office, PM Rodriguez thought, “Maybe if we can arrest Stevens, we can show these rebels how futile their struggle is and force them to the negotiating table.”

            ---

            Over the next two months, the Global Federation’s air force launched a number of airstrikes on the rebel navy’s fleet guarding the southern-most port of the northern island. The bombing missions were dangerous for the loyalist pilots who flew in them. They loyalist air force lost dozens of aircraft in the attacks. However, the air raids lead to the destruction of enough of the PLO navy that the loyalist’s navy felt safely able to launch a massive invasion fleet toward the PLO’s base island. Loyalist navy units based in frontier ports had created a perimeter designed to make it difficult enough for the rebels to flee that they would have to fight the incoming invaders on their base island.

            It was the day before the loyalist navy was set to arrive and begin their assault on the southern port and the surrounding area. PLO Sergeant Harold Burton was briefing his troops on their situation as they looked out at the remains of their fleet from a nearby hill. He began, “Ok, squad, it seems as though our high-command and a large portion of our key technical personnel have ‘gone dark’ in some bunker in the hilltop capital city of this island. Last I heard, they were talking about something called ‘Project M.’ Anyways, we will be part of the main defensive forces protecting the lowlands nearby the port city. It will be our job to hold off the Federation’s troops as they land. Corporal Prince, I am assigning you to help spot for one of our long-range gun emplacements, which will be firing on the incoming enemy ships and landing craft.”

Vivian nodded and then saluted Harold. Then, Harold continued, “The rest of you, except for our snipers, will be with me. The snipers will take up positions on the hillside and fire down at the enemy’s troops as they advance out of their landing craft. Our main squad will be helping our main defensive forces as they try to hold off our enemies from taking the lowlands near the city. We think that the loyalist army will be trying to move into the city from the sides in order to flank our defenders inside of the settlement. Our job will be to make sure that that does not happen! Do you hear me?”

Every member of Harold’s squad shouted, “YES SIR!”

Then, Harold added, “I will show Cpl. Prince where the gun emplacement is. The rest of you go and get some rest before the battle. Tomorrow’s fighting may determine which direction this war will go in. We cannot afford to let the pro-slavery side win here!”

After the rest of the squad headed off to their nearby coastal barracks, Vivian followed Harold up to the emplacement, which contained three long range cannons on turrets. The gunnery crews were not there at the moment, but they were to return early the next morning. As they looked out at the small number of rebel warships that had survived the devastating bombing runs that had also destroyed a decent portion of the area’s coastal defenses, Vivian asked Harold, “Sir, do you think we can win this battle? If we can keep the loyalists from landing here, maybe we can hold our until help can arrive?”

Harold sighed and then responded, “There has been talk of suing for peace with our enemies. Some rebels want to simply secede from the Global Federation, despite Chairman Stevens’ objections. They think that we can create a new separate state, which will have a constitutional ban on the use of Pokémon as laborers or gladiators. Some among us have even argued that, even if it leads to permanent freedom for Pokémon, this war is so costly for humans, Pokémon, the environment and our civilizations that we should find a way to stop it as soon as possible. So, I am not sure if we can win this war, ultimately.”

Vivian nodded somberly and then added, “After Nina died, …I feel as though her sacrifice and the sacrifice of so many other people needs to not be in vain! We have to end the enslavement of Pokémon so that all of this death and viscous fighting will turn out to be worth what we have lost. I recently learned that my old, pro-slavery, lover Nathan Ford is probably still alive. Our relationship, and possible marriage, was an early casualty of this awful war. I would hate to meet Nathan on the battlefield. Still, I will keep fighting so that Pokémon can be free and so that the corrupt and tyrannical Global Federation will be overthrown.”

Harold nodded at Vivian and then told her, “I have given my all to this cause and lost many friends in the process. It would be a true shame if the enemy were to emerge victorious from this conflict, that much I can say. Anyway, you are a good solider, Vivian. I am glad that we were able to fight together in this struggle for universal liberty.”

Vivian nodded and then shook Harold’s hand one last time, she then said, “Honestly, I would rather die than surrender to the loyalists’ army now. Even if they let me go without torture or imprisonment, the humiliation would be too great.”

Harold nodded and then saluted Vivian. After that, the two of them surveyed the area briefly and then left for their barracks.

The next day, during the late morning, Vivian and Harold were, once again, standing near the gun emplacement. The battle was not going well for the rebels. Loyalist transport planes were nearing the coastline with little resistance and the remaining rebel fleet had been punched through. The Federation’s transport ships were deploying their own landing craft and their warships were moving in to begin bombarding what was left of the rebel’s shoreline defenses.

Harold shouted to Vivian, “Get to the gunners, tell them to focus on downing the landing craft! We will have to hold off their troops as they land, whether from the sea or the air.” He then looked at the rest of his squad and shouted, “Everyone, our snipers are already in position. We will move into the trenches and be ready to take on the enemy infantry and armor as they advance out of their landing craft.”

As Vivian took position with her binoculars, Harold moved their troops to the trenches. Vivian saw loyalist and rebel fighter jets dogfighting in the air above the beaches. She then saw an enemy transport plane get hit with a missile from a rebel fighter and go down. The plane crashed into the port city and she winced as at least five of its fellows tried to make it past the rebel lines to parachute their troops in behind the PLO positions. Then, Vivian focused on the water, where a swarm of loyalist landing craft, some carrying tanks, most carrying infantry, was speeding towards the shoreline under covering fire from the Federation navy.   

Vivian saw Harold and his squad engaging the first waves of Federation troops who reached the shore. She then started calling out landing craft that were slowing down as they neared the shoreline. The three gunnery teams near her rapidly snapped into action and fired on the landing craft Vivian had indicated.

A series of shells destroyed two of the enemy landing craft, and the gunners reloaded their cannons. The process was repeated for what felt like ages to Vivian, she pointed out landing craft and, in some cases enemy tanks that had already reached the shoreline. Then, the gunners would fire at them. The enemy troops that reached the shore and stayed there were unable to reach Vivian’s position and the rebel’s anti-air units were keeping the enemy transport planes from being able to reach their drop zones and stay there for any significant amount of time.

However, Vivian soon saw the Loyalist fleet’s warships moving in. Their dreadnaught began to bombard the city’s defensive positions, trying not to hit its lighthouse. Then, a loyalist destroyer began to fire its main guns on the rebel soldiers in the trenches.

Vivian took her binoculars and saw Harold’s position go up in flames from the enemy ship’s cannons. Then, she heard one of the nearby rebel gunners shout, “Get Down!”

Vivian saw that a fast-moving loyalist navy frigate had moved in close to the emplacement and had fired on it with its main guns. Vivian dived for cover away from the guns, as the small battery was blown away.

When Vivian stood back up, she saw that the rebel forces were starting to retreat inland. She ran for the hills, determined to keep fighting, even as the Federation’s warships blasted the rebel positions into oblivion, one by one and the last waves of loyalist landing craft began to disgorge infantry and tanks onto the shoreline.

\---

In the main PLO war room, located in the same underground complex as the Project M laboratories, PLO Chairman Rudolph Stevens had assembled every available rebel military leader from the island.

Once the PLO military leaders were assembled, Chairman Stevens pointed to a map of the island on a table in front of him. He then began, “Ladies and Gentlemen, today the forces of the pro-slavery Global Federation have broken through our coastal defenses and are slowly advancing towards our position. Our analysts have determined that we cannot safely escape the enemy blockade. They have also determined that any possible help from our Western Continent forces will not be able to arrive in time, or with enough firepower, to allow us to weather the loyalist’s assault on our base of operations. …I have called you all here to inform you that I have already sent out the orders to our forces on this island and in all other major territories that we control to fire on and destroy as many population and military centers of the Global Federation as possible, using our nuclear weapons.”

Everyone else in the room simply started at Chairman Stevens in stunned silence as he then continued, “We cannot allow control over this world to return to the hands of the pro-slavery Global Federation forces and their FPL allies. Therefore, I have decided to display the failure of the Global Federation by creating the very kind of situation it was meant to prevent from ever happening!”

Then, a number of alarms in the room went off and Chairman Stevens finished, “With any luck, we will catch our enemies by surprise and be able to stop them from retaliating with their own nuclear weapons. If they are able to retaliate…then we will all pay the penance for the great sin of humankind!”

\---

At the main war room of the Global Federation in Megapolis, Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez was with his military staff. He smiled after hearing the latest report come in from the front lines. He then said, “Alright, our forces are advancing on the PLO rebels’ positions at a rapid pace. Within days, they will be able to arrest, or kill, Rudolph Stevens. From there, we can hopefully bring this war to an end and reestablish our authority over the world….”

            PM Rodriguez was interrupted by a series of alarms going off in the room. A message over the PA system in the building declared, “Rebel forces across the world have started broadcasting the words, ‘Death to slavery… at all costs!’ They have fired nuclear ballistic missiles at Federation loyal targets all around the world!”

            PM Rodriguez slammed his fists into a nearby desk he then barked out, “I should have known that Bastard Stevens was too much a fanatic to accept defeat! Before they hit this city, send out the order that all of our nuclear weapons should be aimed at the rebel’s positions and fired! We will not allow the radicals to take control of the world. The PLO will have sealed their own fate as well as ours!”

            PM Rodriguez’s orders were carried out and the Federation loyalists prepared to fire their retaliatory barrage of atomic weapons.

            ---

            Vivian had been running up the hill, trying to reach another rebel position before the loyalists’ infantry, or their artillery fire, could catch up to her. She had seen the firing of a barrage of long range ballistic missiles from the top of the island’s central hill and was not sure what had happened. As she advanced further up, she averted her eyes to avoid being blinded by a massive explosion over the sea, which destroyed the loyalist navy unit near the coast.

            Vivian then began to realize, “That had to have been a nuclear explosion. …The original purpose of the Global Federation was to prevent a nuclear war. And now we have gone and started one!”

            Vivian kept her face turned away from the ocean as she kept advancing north. However, it was not long before a number of missiles came crashing towards the island proper. Vivian hit the ground, as if she could duck for cover and be safe in this situation, as the island’s major cities were all enveloped in clouds of destruction.


	18. Epilogue: The Final Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The formatting issues persist. However, I hope that that does not prevent any of you from enjoying the last chapter of the series. Also, due to being busy tomorrow, I am posting the chapter a day early again.

            Vivian had no idea how long it had been since the nuclear attacks had struck the island. She had had no radio, or other means of communication, on her when the atomic warhead-carrying missiles had hit. With the mushroom clouds having mostly dispersed. Vivian had decided to head down to where the battle had been taking place nearby the destroyed port town, which her allies had recently been trying to defend.

In theory, her best hope was to find any rebel survivors down near the coast and regroup with them. The main complication with that was that Vivian was pretty sure she was dying. She had managed to become affected by the radiation scattered by the massive blasts and she was getting quite sick.

Vivian took what felt like hours slowly walking down the slope of the hill, she was still clutching her loaded assault rifle. She knew that she might find Federation survivors among the destruction, as well as rebel survivors. Vivian was not even sure if she had a chance of survival. However, she knew that if she was to survive, she had to find other rebels first.

Eventually, Vivian reached an area of elevated coastline nearby the beach. She then saw what appeared to be a small campsite in the distance. She began to walk faster, trying to reach the camp and see whose it was.

As Vivian approached the camp, smoke stated to roll in through the area. She then saw a single figure approaching her. She could not make him out very clearly, but she raised her weapon at him. She hoped that he would turn out to be another rebel soldier, but she was not going to take any risks.

The figure raised an assault rifle, which Vivian could tell was of the kind used by loyalist soldiers. She cursed mentally, realizing that she had found an enemy survivor.

Vivian was still not going to surrender, she cried out and fired a burst of bullets at the man and he fell to the ground, hit in the upper chest.  

As the smoke cleared and Vivian advanced on the campsite, she saw the fallen soldier was still alive. His helmet had rolled off. Vivian panicked briefly as he tried to raise his weapon at her. Then, he lowered his assault rifle and smiled, saying to Vivian, “Hello, Beautiful.”

Vivian dropped her weapons and fell to her knees next to Nathan and began to cry. Her tears seemed to flow like a river as he said, “I almost knew that I would see you again, before I died. My Corporal was killed by your side’s snipers as we were advancing upwards, after landing on the coast. Then, the nukes hit and I was the only one who survived the fighting that continued in the area…”

As Vivian tried to control her tears, Nathan took her hand and she exclaimed, “Even after all that has happened. I am so sorry that I shot you. I knew you were alive because one of your subordinates told me…before I killed him.”

Nathan coughed as he began the process of succumbing to his injuries. He then responded, “Yeah… Nicholas Kopek. He was an actual Pokémon Trainer, you know. It looks like he killed Nina. We found her body nearby his…”

Vivian then looked down at Nathan and told him, “Even after all the horrible things I have been through, I am still sorry that I lied to you. I should have been honest with you. I wanted us to be together, I really love…”

            Nathan nodded back at Vivian and then interjected, “It does not change any of this. And, I never stopped loving you…even after I broke up with you. I never got rid of your picture on my phone. I still held out some glimmer of hope that even after the war, we could find each other and make up.”

            As Nathan and Vivian both grew weaker, Vivian replied, “I… held out a similar hope once I learned that you were alive. Now, we are both dying, but there is no one I would rather die next to.”

            Nathan nodded and then finished, “I feel the same way…”

            Vivian then leaned down and kissed Nathan on the lips, gently but passionately. He smiled at her and then closed his eyes for the last time.

            Vivian then laid down, facing the beach and still holding her dead lover’s hand in one of hers. She then saw a series of Lapras swimming nearby and schools of Remoraid jumping out of the ocean and back in. Vivian wondered how they seemed unaffected by the radiation. She then looked over at them, and said, tears still in her eyes, “It will be your world soon.” Vivian then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She then finished, her voice quivering with emotion, “Please don’t make our mistakes.”

            Vivian Prince then laid down on her back next to Nathan Ford and closed her eyes. She then allowed herself to die.

            ---

            The destruction wrought by the nuclear attacks was the beginning of the end for the human race. Vivian and Nathan were not the last to die.

            Pamela Prince, who had been helping PLO-allied guerilla fighters in the southern suburbs of Megapolis after the war began due to her anger at the Global Federation for the arrest of her daughter, was killed by flying debris sent out by the explosion that vaporized the center of the city and reduced the outskirts to ruins.

            Prime Minister Geraldo Rodriguez and his staff, including director Omar Mandvi, were killed in the blast that destroyed Megapolis.

            Rudolph Stevens and the others in the PLO command bunker were killed by slow radiation poisoning when radiation from the blast that leveled the nearby city, leaving only the ruins of a few buildings standing, managed to seep into the bunker. Jeb Brooks was among those who died of radiation poisoning in the bunker. In the city proper, the captured loyalist major Victoria Chase was killed by the initial nuclear blast.

            The war did not end with the nuclear attacks, in fact, the remnant forces of both sides fought even more fiercely after the nuclear exchange. The hate that had built up between the two sides reached its greatest and final stage now that the war had led to destruction on a scale never before seen. The ongoing fighting helped to wipe out most of what was left of humanity. The irradiation of food supplies in many areas and the radiation that was now simply in the air also contributed to the deaths of many humans. Some wild Pokémon found themselves more able to attack, kill and eat humans safely then they had been in the past, contributing to the deaths of even more of the nuclear exchange’s survivors.

            It was less than a year from the nuclear exchange when the last surviving humans on the planet engaged in a skirmish within the forests of the Western Continent. Fought between PLO and Global Federation forces, the small-scale battle lead to the last hope of continued human existence wiped out. That battle’s survivors were either killed in wild Pokémon attacks, or succumbed to injuries or radiation, within days of the fighting ceasing.

            As for the Pokémon, they indeed were to be the inheritors of the world the humans had left behind. Any Pokémon in storage systems that survived the nuclear exchange were released one way or another over the decades that followed.

            Within a century of the deaths of the last humans, some Pokémon seeking safer habitation began to move into the ruins of old human towns and cities that had not been totally destroyed. As time went on, these Pokémon made mutual defense agreements. Those primitive pacts lead to the formation of the first real Pokémon societies. Some wild Pokémon developed tribal social structures outside of the newly developing towns, they settled in areas apart from the old human ruins. Many Pokémon remained in wild packs, schools or herds, even though emigration to the developing towns started to increase as time went on. A small number of the new Pokémon settlements were constructed without the ruins of an entire human community to serve as a foundation, but most towns contained a significant number of restored human buildings.

            With Pokémon civilization slowly rising from the ashes of human civilization, many Pokémon began to re-discover elements of human culture and even the old human religion devoted to the deific Legendary Pokémon, Arceus.

            Some of the Pokémon who became civilized decided that the fate of their precursors, as well as their culture and technology was a subject worth devoting intense study to. One such scholar took up residence in the ruins of Megapolis.

            ---

            The female Weavile know as Akira folded her arms as she walked up to the ruins of an ancient apartment complex. Little did she know the story of the human writer and soldier, Vivian Prince, who had once lived in the complex with her mother. Akira’s lover, the Zoroark scholar Shade and their friends, the Glaceon and Leafeon sisters Olympia and Livia followed close behind her. Akira then asked Shade, “Honey, this building looks to be quite run down, more than usual. Are you sure that we should use this as the base of operations for our new organization?”

            Shade put his arm on Akira’s shoulder and told her, “This building has not been restored yet. …but we got it from the old landlord pretty cheap. I think that with some work, it will become the headquarters for a continent-spanning Guild, which we can use to both help our fellow civilized Pokémon and further my research into humans. We will soon begin to look for new recruits to send to outlying towns that are willing to have Guild offices set up in their territory. We have to start somewhere.”

            As they headed inside, Akira replied, “Well, we did learn recently about the intense growth in Polumbos Town over the mountains and to the south. That mayor of theirs’s and his Sherriff, Theodore, have really made that settlement a boom town.”

            Olympia then spoke up to say, “We did get a letter from a Sunflora in that area who seemed interested in helping us, via Pellipper, recently. We should look into hiring her.”

            As Livia and Akira also nodded, Shade looked around the room and said, “In due time, all in due time. We will build something here that will hopefully outlive us.”

            Akira then smiled over at Shade and asked him, “You seem interested in your own legacy?”

            Shade then responded, “Of course, I want to be able to learn as much about humans and how we can better ourselves using their technology and culture. However, I also want to leave a legacy clearer than they did. Someday, others will have to live with the decisions that we have made here… just as we are living in the wake of humanity.”

            Shade then turned around and led his allies up the stairs to check out the reachable upper floors.

                                                            Ruination: THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! ROC is now fully posted! Thanks to everyone who read my stories, especially to anyone who got this far and anyone who left a Kudos, or multiple Kudos! Keep your eyes peeled for my next story when it hits the site. It should begin posting next Tuesday and will be titled "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: In the Wake of Legends." The title is somewhat of a reference to my first story on this website. Anyway, thank you all again.


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